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docockbrainrot · 3 years

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i think i want you (to leave)

Summary: We’re all running from something. Sometimes, metaphorically. Sometimes, literally. Literally running, from the very strangely hypnotizing supervillain that seems hellbent on ruining every bit of your life he can get all eight of his limbs on.

Pairing: Doc Ock X Reader/ Otto Octavius X Reader

Content: Slow Burn, NSFW eventually, 18+, Female Reader

AO3 link here!

Previous Chapter

Chapter 7

renegade// taylor swift & big red machine

Your outing for coffee didn't go as planned- go figure. Nothing could just be easy for once. There was a time in your life when you could quite literally just leave your apartment and not be harassed by creepy evil scientist masterminds- but apparently those days are behind you.

Upon returning home with half a latte in hand that you set down on the coffee table, you decide that you deserve answers. And a lot of them. Otto has stalked you nonconsensually for the last time- now, you hope, it's your turn to do some digging.

You plop down onto the couch, laptop on your thighs, feet kicked up onto the table besides your drink as you study the search bar on your home screen, fingers poised above the keys. You glance over the lip of your computer, the paper coffee cup staring back at you from where you placed it. You’re frowning without even thinking about it. Yeah. Things are definitely getting out of hand and you want nothing more than to take the reins back on your own life.

Nerves make you feel as though you’re about to get caught red-handed doing something you shouldn’t be, as you type his name into Google, feeling nothing short of absolutely ridiculous at the same time:

otto octavius

You hesitate for a moment before hitting the ��Enter’ key and a sea of search engine results flood your screen. It’s mostly news articles, you decipher quickly just from the initial scan. A few YouTube videos that look grainy on the thumbnail, probably captured from phone cameras, glimpses of hero versus villain action. Your mouth feels dry as you hover the mouse cursor over an article link titled

Esteemed Research Scientist Involved In Horrific Accident, 1 Dead and Several Injured

Mm. Promising. Click.

You aren’t sure why, but you’re immediately caught off guard by the photo of him at the top of the page, smiling, in a very cozy looking grandfather-esque sweater. He looks… kind. Gentle. Uncomfortable, your gaze catches the next image- a very pretty older woman, with intelligent eyes and delicate features. You feel as though you already know where this is going, but you reluctantly get into the article anyway, scrolling slowly, mind racing to process the information.

She was his wife. You already knew that, in a way. The wedding ring on his finger was a dead giveaway that still unsettled you to dwell on. She was killed during some kind of fusion experiment he was showcasing- the technical, science-y terms are mostly lost on you, but you get the gist. The electrical malfunction left him disfigured… You learn a new word: “Actuators”… Bank robbing… Location unknown… Authorities are offering rewards for tips in regards to his whereabouts. You snort in amusement. Very tempting. You look at the coffee again and feel a softening in your chest.

With a sigh on your lips, you lean forward to snatch up the cup and take a sip. It’s mostly lukewarm, toeing the line of ‘cold’ now, but it’s still delicious. And confusing. Why is he being so… nice to you? You’re pretty sure he’s using you- he thinks your connection to Oscorp can benefit him somehow, judging by this ‘favor’ that involves company blueprints. But none of it really makes sense. He could just threaten you. He could just threaten literally any Oscorp employee- he clearly doesn’t care about the people he hurts along the way. For fucks sake, you just watched a video on the internet of him literally throwing a fucking Buick across 2nd Street.

The elusivity of this man is frightening, you have to admit. How hard can it be to find a huge man with eight limbs who scales- and destroys- buildings? But then you think back to this morning- Otto really just strolled down 9th Ave like he didn’t have a care in the world. What’s his endgame here? Sure, yeah, he’s robbing banks, whatever. Did his accident just drive him totally insane? It doesn’t seem likely- everything he does is intelligent and purposeful. Well, mostly everything. He really should throw less cars. What does he need the money for? And breaking into Oscorp- there’s no money kept there. You feel like it should be making sense somehow, but it’s not, not at all.

Frustrated, you close the related tabs and drum your fingers against your coffee cup.

Well… good time as any to start job searching, you suppose.

---

Hours tick by and your butt is starting to feel like a permanent addition to the couch, numb and uncomfortable from not moving. It’s around the time you feel like maybe you should find something to eat or at least get up to stretch your legs when you make the mistake of looking up from your resume typing.

The window. It’s unlocked. And there’s a glowing red light staring at you from the center of its respective metal claw. Actuator you mentally correct yourself. Great. Twice in one day. New record.

You don’t even bother getting up and just watch with a very unamused look on your face as Otto lets himself in. He certainly doesn’t ask permission this time and you spare a moment to think ‘Oh good, at least he’s not a vampire. At least we can rule that one out.' Actually, you take it back- it’s not good. A vampire would honestly make a whole lot more fucking sense at this point. He’s holding something in one hand that looks very suspiciously like a very suspicious paper bag.

“I draw the line at letting you sell drugs out of my apartment,” you just wanna lay that out as soon as possible, tone blithe and reckless. At this point, you’re getting ballsy and you know it; what’s he gonna do- kill you? Apparently he needs you for something and while you might be totally in the dark about what it is, you are wholeheartedly going to be taking full advantage of your (probably temporarily) privileged status.

He scoffs and doesn’t bother closing the window behind him. You’re led to believe he must want this to be a quick meeting. “I’m not a drug dealer,” he feels the need to defend his dignity and you cock an eyebrow at him.

“Like that somehow makes you a better person? Mr. I-Throw-Old-Ladies-Off-Rooftops?” You can’t stop the eyeroll that punctuates your sentence and you shake your head, indignantly turning your attention back to your laptop, not certain that you’ll actually be able to focus on getting anything done, but more so that you don’t have to look at him anymore. Maybe if you ignore him for long enough he’ll just go away.

You spend a few minutes with just the sound of your typing between the two of you.

Okay, maybe he’s not going to go away.

“Jesus, fuck, Otto, are you just going to stand there all day? You’re like that creepy dude that sits on the corner of St. Marks Place and comes up to my car window and just fucking stares at me until the light turns green,” you grumble at him and the response you get is your laptop being slammed shut with just enough warning that you’re able to snatch your hands away before they get caught. He’s glowering at you over the rim of his sunglasses, leaning over you with his palm flat against the top of your HP, applying no small amount of pressure to the tops of your thighs. Ah. Good. You’re gonna be pissed if he cracks the screen. “I’m kind of busy here, you know, applying for jobs and whatnot. Since someone got me fucking fired, I have to do that now.”

“You’re really just a nightmare, you know that, kid?” He doesn’t sound angry though and you feel the brief terror that seized up in your gut start to dissipate. You try not to think about how close he is, for the second time that day.

“Personal space doesn’t mean much to you, does it?” You retort, but it’s playful and there’s a ghost of a smile on your lips. The smell of aftershave, leather, smoke, and metal fills your head, clouding your senses like a thick haze. You’re reminded of the cigar shop your dad likes to frequent when he comes to visit you. Okay, the moment’s ruined now that you’re thinking of your father and you yank your laptop out from under Otto’s heavy hand. He gets the hint, thankfully, and straightens up.

“And here I was thinking you liked it,” he smirks and you wish you were of strong enough body and mind to wallop him upside the head with your dingy computer. He tosses the paper bag onto the couch next to you and you eye it with all the trust of a wild dog being tossed food scraps.

“What is that.”

“A peace offering.”

You squint at him. Then the bag. Then back at him. But he’s already looking to make his exit, giving no good-bye, other than one of the actuators seeming to focus lingering attention on Chekov and Otto muttering a quick “Come on,” before they disappear, presumably to descend the fire escape.

---

It’s money, by the way. In the suspicious bag. And a burner phone with a single, unnamed number loaded into the contacts.

In addition to the very illegal-feeling operation that you want no part of, you're faced with the sudden realization, hours later, that he still wasn't wearing gloves.

And his wedding band was gone.

You aren’t sure what to do with any of this information, once again.

Great.

#otto octavius x reader #doc ock x reader #fanfiction #otto octavius #doc ock #whew we got a long way to go lads

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makeste · 4 years

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BnHA Chapter 299: No Chains Left

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “and then AFO broke out all of the inmates from six other prisons and took a nap. well anyways, here’s the hospital angst.” Kacchan woke up two days later and was all, “WAIT BUT HOW ARE DEKU AND TODOROKI AND ALL OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS EXCEPT IIDA DOING” and then we cut to Shouto’s room where the other U.A. kids were sitting around being Mutually Traumatized and giving each other moral support and such. Everyone was alll, “...”, and then the rest of the Todofam showed up, INCLUDING POSSIBLY REI?! which, omg. The chapter ended with Kacchan STOMPING THROUGH THE HALLS all “WHADDYA MEAN DEKU HASN’T WOKEN UP YET”, dragging along Satou and Mineta behind him, fueled by the power of ALL OF THE FUCKS HE NOW GIVES. He gives so many fucks now you guys. This boy cares so much he can probably deduct it on his taxes.

Today on BnHA: SPEAKING OF PEOPLE WHO GIVE A LOT OF FUCKS, the story cuts abruptly to Hawks, freshly recovering from his near-death experience, and pondering the threads that have weaved the tapestry of his life and led him to this moment. Basically he grew up in poverty with his Jerk Dad and Jerk Mom until his dad got arrested one day and his mom sent him off to go Find Money Or Something, and so he rescued a busload of people and found himself a new career. Back in the present day, Hawks and Jeanist ride around town in Jeanist’s Jamborghini having awkward encounters with civilians in a country on the brink of social collapse, and visiting Hawks’s mother’s home. Hawks is all “I know from an outsider’s perspective it must look like my life currently sucks, but now that the HPSC is gone, my public image is shot, and my parents are finally out of my life, I’m actually feeling SURPRISINGLY GOOD.” Anyway so he’s gonna go meet up with Endeavor now, and p.s. this chapter was fucking fantastic though, damn.

oh my god?? is this Hawks narration?? something about him growing up watching the heroes on TV and thinking of them as fictional characters

okay I scrolled down a little bit more to see the rest of that “Keigo” panel, and wow

this is basically a shed. poor boy definitely grew up rough. let me tell you guys, I came in here ready for some BakuDeku shenanigans; I was not prepared for Hawks Flashback Angst. I AM HERE FOR IT, but also wow I gotta brace myself now lol

HELLO MISTER HAWKS’S JERK DAD, SIR

BnHA sure does have an array of Jerk Dads, doesn’t it. makes me appreciate characters like Masaru and JirouDad all the more for bucking the trend

anyway. so Horikoshi, you really thought that one itty bitty chapter of hospital catharsis would be enough to calm us all before you went right back to showing us child abuse huh. my god man can we rest

BABY HAWKS

swear to god this kid can’t be more than five or six, and yet he has this completely blank look on his face even with his dad looming over him being all threatening and shit. like he’s shut down his emotions to protect himself. imagine what has to happen to a child for him to have learned this at such a young age. fuck

AND MEANWHILE THIS GUY

don’t mingle with humans?? not “other” humans, just humans?? what is this implying here?? and also holy shit Hawks definitely didn’t inherit his looks from his dad orz

then again he doesn’t really bear much of a resemblance to his strung-out mom here either

omg omg omg. and this child is basically trapped here in this environment with these two people. this explains a SHITLOAD about Hawks’s personality though you guys. his ability to completely separate his real thoughts from the face he presents to the outside world. his pragmatic approach to analyzing and solving problems. his layers of emotional walls. turns out almost none of that came from the HPSC training -- that was all learned hands-on in his own personal do-or-die survival nightmare childhood!! oh, boy

and small wonder then that he latched on to Endeavor so strongly if he really is the one who brought down his dad and inadvertently saved him from this. also, just putting this out there, I know people are always talking about him and Dabi being foils, and I think it’s very interesting how Touya grew up in a household where he saw firsthand the dark side of hero society, and so ended up becoming a villain in order to bring it down. whereas young Keigo had almost the exact opposite experience, growing up experiencing the dark side of villain society and becoming a hero in order to bring about a world where no one else has to experience that. just. both of them are so determined not to become their fathers. some interesting parallels there

so Hawks was sort of an accident after his parents had “thanks for helping me not get caught after I killed that guy” sex, and now this little boy is growing up in squalor and being beaten by his father for things like Sitting In The Wrong Out-Of-The-Way Corner Trying Not To Be A Bother To Anybody. holy fuck. this is so rough to read through you guys

wait so does Jerk Dad have a an eyeball manipulation quirk?? because he doesn’t have the wings like his son, but wth are these things??

this presumably also means that Keigo has never been to school or anything either. he basically doesn’t exist. he thinks heroes are fictional characters, he doesn’t realize that they’re real people. these are people who could help him if he could escape and find them, but he doesn’t know, and they don’t know about him

OH MY GOD HE’S JUST SITTING IN HIS CORNER HUGGLING HIS ENDEAVOR PLUSH OH MY GOD

how could this child possibly have an anti-fandom when he’s done NOTHING WRONG HIS ENTIRE LIFE. huh. just explain that to me. lol I mean I’m not looking to pick a fight with anyone, but also, MAYBE I AM, idk?? this kid has gotten me all riled up lmao

anyways, Protect Keigo 2021, and thank you Horikoshi for these three very terrible pages. I am pleased to inform you that you’ve effectively gotten your point across and you may now commence saving this kid already

YAY

oh no, Keigo’s dumbass jerk dad tried to steal a car and the popo nabbed his ass and now his mom can’t just sit around neglecting her VERY YOUNG SON all day long, oh horrors. sorry lady my tiny violin is on backorder. just imagine that I’m playing a very sarcastic song on it for you

anyway so what are you gonna do now, abandon him? I can hardly imagine he’d be worse off, if anything it might be a near-instant improvement

LMAO HE’S ALL “WAIT WHAT ENDEAVOR’S A REAL FUCKING DUDE?!”

AND THEY SAY THAT A HERO CAN SAVE US~~~~ I’M NOT GONNA STAND HERE AND WAAAAAIT~~~~~ I’LL HOLD ONTO THE WINGS OF THE EAGLES, WATCH AS WE ALL FLY AWAAAAAAY~~~~

lol what a randomly pivotal moment in his young life. TIME TO GO MAKE THESE MEMES INTO DREAMS YOUNG ONE

anyway so his mom freaked out and grabbed him and they wound up at a train station with her TELLING HIM TO GO GET HER SOME MONEY, oh my god. SURE MOM LEMME JUST WALTZ RIGHT ON DOWN TO THE “JOBS FOR FIVE-YEAR-OLDS” STORE AND TELL THEM I NEED SOME CASH. ffff manifesting someone to come help him in 3... 2...

...

SIGH, JUST GO RESCUE THE PEOPLE FROM THE BUS, KEIGO. is this the outfit he was wearing when that happened?? it must be, right?? I can’t imagine them surviving more than a couple days out here unless this starts getting REALLY dark in a way I know that even Horikoshi won’t explore, so yeah. cut to the HPSC now please. never thought we’d be glad to see them. I mean sure, it may be an “out of the frying pan...” case, but good god

THANK YOU!!

and I guess it was his mom’s eyeball quirk then. anyway, whatever, see you again never, hopefully. lol oh man. thaaaat, was upsetting. need to center myself here for a sec. NAMASTE

OH YAY THE PRESENT

so we cut from Baby Hawks Angst straight to Present Day Hawks Angst, huh. not that this exhausted and traumatized lil lad isn’t still a baby to me too, I’ll have you know

BEST JEANIST, ALWAYS WITH THE JOKES

“WHEW, THOUGHT YOU DIED ON ME FOR A SEC THERE KID.” lmao. Caleb will no doubt ruin this by making his word choice all stiffly formal as usual, so I’m just going to treasure this “WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, I’M FRESH OUT OF FUCKS” version of Jeanist while I can

look at him, driving his Jeanistmobile

again, is it any wonder Kacchan was bitching about Endeavor’s dinky little car when he was used to riding around town in style like this. anyone else staring at this panel trying to figure out how this car is somehow secretly made of jeans

NOOOOO

FUCK YOU DABI LMAO. PUTTING THESE VOICE ACTORS OUT OF A JOB ONE BY ONE

anyway so Jeanist is all “GOOD THING IT’S THE FUTURE AND WE’RE SO GOOD AT MEDICAL SCIENCE” to handwave how Hawks went from one step shy of being a very handsome corpse, to sitting around texting Jeanist in a car all of two days later

OH MY GOD, AND FINALLY AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS

wait a minute. I’m so confused lmfao. soooo, was Hawks all “anyway, here’s Jeanist’s dead body, you can examine it but please don’t look at him too closely and also I’m gonna need that back unharmed.” how tf did you pull that off lmao

(ETA: also isn’t this technically confirmation of the ol’ Noumu Jeanist theory lol. I’m gonna go ahead and say it is.)

NO BUT PLEASE, CONTINUE. I unironically love reading Horikoshi’s overly convoluted “SEE IT’S NOT A PLOT HOLE” explanations

lkldslfk so wait, you’re telling me Hawks convinced Dabi and the League to put Jeanist’s body in storage, and basically just hoped they wouldn’t use him for any experiments until he could put his plan into action and have the HPSC’s people break in and find and revive him?? WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG. A FOOLPROOF PLAN IF I’VE EVER HEARD ONE

fff this man really asked Jeanist to risk it all to prop up his little cover story, and Jeanist was all “sure why not” omfg. anyways, thanks for recapping all of this out loud for no particular reason in your car conversation you two

LMAO NOW WHAT

TROUBLE YOU SAY? GOOD THING THE NEW NUMBER ONE HERO IS ON THE JOB THEN

okay no it’s just some random thugs strolling around terrorizing the downtown. fuck ‘em. so Jeanist is making short work of them now

uh oh

won’t come? not can’t, but won’t?? what???

WOW

well I guess that makes the local heroes A BUNCH OF SHITHEADS now doesn’t it?? jesus

and okay, serious question, if the cops are spread too thin and the heroes have literally walked out on the job, what exactly is stopping everyone from deciding to use their quirks to defend themselves, legal or not? nothing, as far as I can tell. society just got a hell of a lot more chaotic

anyway so this is an interesting panel here

man, Dabi really did pull it off, didn’t he. well anyway so here’s that better world all of the villains were wanting, you guys! isn’t it so great?? everyone’s terrified and angry and losing hope and society is inches away from collapsing into total anarchy! but hey, at least we exposed the number one hero as a hypocrite

anyway so what are these guys up to

fucking hell, he’s visiting his mom. I really wasn’t prepared to commit this much emotional energy towards reading this chapter today. BUT VERY WELL, WE PRESS ON

?? wait she’s not there?

is this supposed to explain how Dabi knew who Hawks really was? except that there’s the little matter of how he even know where to find his mother in the first place. feels like we’re still missing something there, but oh well

OH MY GOD

RHA I TAKE BACK EVERY WORD I EVER SPOKE AGAINST YOU. YOU ARE A SCANLATION GROUP FILLED WITH ANGELS LMAO. I WILL TAKE THIS PANEL IN MY HANDS, AND TREASURE IT AND KEEP IT SAFE

ANYWAY, BECAUSE MY TIRED BIRD SON’S LIFE SUCKED SO MUCH ALREADY, IT TURNS OUT HE’S ACTUALLY PLEASED WITH THIS NEW TURN OF EVENTS LOL HOW ABOUT THAT

GOOD FOR YOU BBY. YOU GO OUT THERE AND BE YOUR OWN PERSON

and in all seriousness, I love that identity he chooses -- chooses, because it actually is him making a choice now, possibly for the very first time in his life -- is “guy who helps people”, though. it really is nothing short of miraculous that he held on to that kind of optimism and desire to do good even with everything he’s been through. there were so many times he could have chosen to turn his back on the world in retaliation for the way it treated him. but he didn’t!! and here he is now, finally free, and what he wants to do with the rest of his life now is simply to help others. anyway please excuse me for a moment, I need to go find some sort of basket or a big vase to put all of my fresh new Hawks Feels in, pardonne-moi

YEAH BOIIIIII

“FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS, MISTER JEANIST, WHERE DID YOU FIND YOUSELF THAT SWEETASS CAR.” hey, all I’m saying is if this boy’s wings really aren’t growing back, he’s gonna need to find himself a new means of transportation y’know?

oh my god you guys it’s a flashback to his mom buying him the Endeavor plushie when he was like two because, and I quote, ALL MIGHT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE

oh my god oh my god. my boy out here with a new lease on life finding hope in the darkest of times

wasn’t your throat supposed to be all fucked up lmao. Horikoshi was suddenly all “oh shit the VAs are gonna be pissed at me if I keep this up huh”

“that’s why Bubaigawara was such a great guy” motherfucker IT IS A TERRIBLE DAY FOR RAIN. FORECAST SAID NOTHING ABOUT THIS

:’)

yes ma’am. yes indeed. confirmed, I really will straight up fight some motherfuckers for this child. well not really, but YOU KEEP YOUR DISCOURSE OFF MY LAWN AND OUT OF MY BLOG YOU HEAR. THIS IS A HAWKS-FRIENDLY SPACE. WE RESPECT TAKAMI KEIGO IN THESE STREETS

and he’s saying (or is he thinking?? what a weirdly shaped speech bubble this is) that even if what Dabi said about the Todoroki household is true, “I’m not sure it’s the same now.” which happens to be ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. man this whole chapter really is all about saying “fuck the past” and moving forward and I am living for it

SON!!!!

“the first step is at my beginning” fklkjlk. what an iconic fucking line??

AND HIS WINGS!!!! THEY ACTUALLY ARE GROWING BACK AHHHHHHH. “PUT A RAINCHECK ON THAT CAR, JEANIST-SAN.” THE HAWKSMOBILE CAN WAIT, RIGHT NOW HE HAS TO GO INSERT HIMSELF BACK INTO THE TODODRAMA WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT

you guys. I came here ready for some BAKUDEKU HOSPITAL ANGST, and I got DIDDLY SHIT of that, and none of my other kids were even in this chapter, but!!! ASK ME IF I CARE LMAO omg. because bird son is hanging with his new best friend, and he’s out here Finding Himself and picking up the pieces and putting them back together stronger than ever because RESILIENCE HAS A NAME, AND IT’S SPELLED H-A-W-K-S, and you guys. profound, my love for this child. holy shit. hey google, play Silence by Marshmello

#bnha 299 #takami keigo #hawks (bnha)#best jeanist #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #I found peace in your violence #can't tell me there's no point in trying #I'm at one #and I've been quiet for too long

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judediangelo75 · 4 years

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We’re Just Friends

A/N: This is an idea that me and @that-scouse-wizard have chatted about while ago. Now that I thought about it, it wouldn’t leave me alone. So here it is.

I hope you guys enjoy this silly one-shot. I would make it super concrete and specific but I don’t have the energy for that.

Just know nobody is truly dating anyone (Judith and Talbott aren’t together yet, neither is David and Merula)

MC friend: David Willows ( @that-scouse-wizard )

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Anybody who’s been at Hogwarts long enough has heard about David Willows and Judith Harris.

Siblings of the missing Jacob Hall and Jamal Harris.

Hufflepuff’s feared Beaters, known as Hound and Tigress.

The proclaimed Heroes of Hogwarts.

What started off as a simple teammate relationship on the Quidditch pitch turned into an unbreakable bond. The two were thick as thieves, making sure to have each other’s backs through everything.

You want to talk smack about one of them? Be ready to be grilled within an inch of your life by the other.

You want to try to engage in argument with the pair? Be prepared to walk away in shambles.

You want to try to gang up on one of them? The other usually not too far away to act as backup.

Cursed Vaults? Psh, the two will be on the front lines, ready to take on whatever danger there is.

Many people have often wondered if the two were more than just friends.

It’s a common thing to see Judith fussing over David after a rough training session or after he got into fight. Or to see David giving the sleeping Judith a piggyback ride back to their Common Room.

David grew up to be a handsome young lad. Pale skin, dark brown hair with warm dark brown eyes to match. With the help of his growth spurt, he grew up to be a solid 5′11. Thanks to his constant training and his position as a Beater, he maintain an athletic, muscular figure. It was no secret he had his fair share of admirers, girls often giggling or blushing at the sight of the Hufflepuff wizard.

Judith grew up as well. Upon entering Hogwarts, she was a small, slim girl. An easy target to those who didn’t know her and someone often overlooked. As the years passed, she grew to be a beauty. Dark skin, brown-black hair, with pale gold eyes. She didn’t grow past 5′6 (and a half as she normally stresses), making her one of the shorter members of their group of friends. But it suited her, especially with her body build. While she was still on the slim side, her body fill out and reveal womanly curves. Her training with David and Quidditch helped her maintain this figure. While guys still fear her due to her strength and fighting skills, that didn’t stop them from staring at the Hufflepuff witch when she came into view.

Two good looking people with a bond like theirs? They had to be together. There’s no way they would be just friends.

At least that’s what everyone who wasn’t friends with them thought.

--------------------

“David.” The Hufflepuff wizard in questioned turned to his head to his friend.

“Yeah? what’s up, Judith,” he asked. The young witch’s brows were furrowed, as if she was trying to figure something out.

“Have you head the latest rumor going on,” she questioned him. David shook his head, curious to what the students at Hogwarts have came up with this time.

“Someone started a rumor saying that we were dating...” David blinked once before letting out a unattractive snort.

“Us? Dating? Merlin’s beard, people must’ve gone mad,” he laughed. Judith let a soft chuckle.

“You’re not wrong. Especially when we’re in own respective crushes,” she smirked. David took a deep breath to help calm down.

“So, what do you want to do about it? You wanna mess with some peoples’ heads or shut down the rumor,” David asked. Judith’s expression turned into thoughtful one. Very rarely would she tolerate tomfoolery, let alone entertain it.

This was a pretty stupid rumor.

David and her have been friends ever since second year. Never once has she looked at him that way.

Especially not when a loner Ravenclaw caught her eye during the beginning of their third year...

As stupid as the rumor is, it was kind of funny. In a way she can kind of see how people would think that they were dating.

Very rarely would she mess around and entertain something for her own amusement...

But she’ll make the exception this time,

“I’m down to have a laugh,” she finally said. David cracked a smile and laughed.

“I agree.”

-----------------------

Judith and David were cackling in their empty Common Room.

It’s been two days since they decided to have fun with this rumor and the reactions were well worth it.

The wide eyes, jaw dropped and jealous looks they received when they were being “affectionate” never failed to make them smirk.

They made sure to hold hands where everyone could see.

Casually flirt with one another when people where in earshot.

David would sometimes play with her hair.

Judith would occasionally feel up on David’s biceps.

Hell, just earlier that day, Judith was sitting on David’s lap in the Courtyard. They were revising for Charms class as they did this, quizzing each other as they remain close. Guys were glaring at David as he had his arm wrapped around his friend’s waist. Girls turned red out of jealous rage as Judith occasionally nuzzled him.

They definitely looked like the “perfect” couple everyone thought them to be.

“Whew, that was the best laugh I’ve had in awhile,” Judith gasped, leaning on David for support. David rested a hand over his heaving chest, trying to compose himself.

“Honestly! You would think our House mates would know better. They’ve never seen us that close,” he snorted.

Judith let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re not wrong, Hound. Ahhh, I think it;s time to put this rumor to rest.” David nodded with a smile.

Little did they know, their little stunt soon reached a certain Ravenclaw and Slytherin...

-----------------------

Talbott growled, ready to rip David a new one.

Normally he would ignore rumors and such, but when he heard his crush’s name being mentioned, he couldn’t help but to tune into the whispers around him.

He didn’t like what he heard.

‘David is lucky bloke to score a girl like Judith.’

‘David and Judith make such a cute couple, don’t you think?’

‘Ugh! I can’t believe Judith is with him! Now I’ll never get a chance to be with David.’

‘David is such a smug bastard. He’s basically showing off that he managed to lock down one of the prettiest witches at Hogwarts.’

‘Did you see how they were all cuddled up in the Courtyard?’

“If I hear one more time how perfect David and Judith are, I will puke.”

Talbott felt angry towards both of them. He was angry at David for stealing Judith and he was angry at Judith messing with his feelings.

He liked her for quite some time. And it looked like that she returned his feelings. Until he’s heard that she was dating David Willows.

Talbott was hurt and pissed off. He was a bit insecure about himself and the idea of her and David made that insecurity rear its ugly head.

He wasn’t as outgoing as David.

He didn’t have David’s strength or fighting prowess.

He was no Quidditch player (while he believe that he could make a decent Seeker or Keeper, he couldn’t compare to a Beater. Players who could strike fear into the hearts of others).

He didn’t even have David’s looks. While he felt like he looked decent, he didn’t really have girls openly fawning over him or blushing and giggling after him.

He was a loner who preferred the company of a good book or birds. Hell, there were people who said he looked like their long lost cousin.

David looked like he had everything. Including the girl he’s been pining over for Gods know how long. Talbott just reached outside of the Hufflepuff Common Room where he met a Slytherin witch with a similar murderous expression on her face.

----------------

Merula’s blood was boiling.

All day she’s been hearing about how cute Willows and Harris was and she’s at her wits end.

Out of all the witches David could’ve picked, he picked Harris? That bloody disgrace Jamal Harris’s sister?!

What the hell did she have that Merula didn’t?!

Merula is the Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts!

‘Have you won a duel against Harris since you got here?’ Well no, but-

‘Did you forget that she can easily defend herself? Or did you forget the bruises and broken nose she gave you back in third year?’ No, but I-

‘Have you bested her at Flying class? Have you ever won a race against her on your new broom?’ Not yet-

‘Can you conjure a powerful corporeal Patronus?’ I haven’t-

‘Do you have a position on the Quidditch team?’ No, but who wants to play that stupid game anyways?!

‘Easy, David does. And Harris can.’

Merula internally growled at her thoughts. She was angry at Harris for walking around Hogwarts as if she was better than everyone else. As if she was better than her.

She was strong, powerful and apparently beautiful. Merula has even heard Slytherin wizards who picked on her when they were in their earlier years talk about how “pretty” and “beautiful” she was.

Now she stolen Willows’s attention from her!

She stood outside the Hufflepuff Common Room, waiting for the two to emerge when a Ravenclaw wizard stormed up.

“What you doing here,” she questioned with narrowed eyes. Talbott rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with the “Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts”.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he snarked. Merula glared and was about to retort something when the door swung open.

David and Judith were surprised to find their respective crushes in front of their Common Room, suddenly glaring at them.

“You have some explaining to do, Willows,” Merula hissed.

“We need to have a talk, Judith,” Talbott said coldly.

The two Hufflepuff glanced at each other before back at the Ravenclaw and Slytherin trying to murder them with their eyes.

“Yeah...”

“What the hell is going on between you two?!” Both Hufflepuff winced at the loud yell coming from the enraged pair.

“Whoa, easy with the hostility. We’re just friends,” Judith said. David nodded.

“Yeah, there’s nothing going on between us,” David added. Talbott and Merula narrowed their eyes.

“’Just friends’? That’s sure as hell not what I heard, Judith,” Talbott huffed.

“Friends don’t cuddle up in public together, Willows. Don’t bullshit me,” Merula growled.

Judith tilted her head to the side and David rose a brow.

“Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell us, you believe those rumors,” the Hufflepuff witch asked.

“Who the hell are we suppose to believe,” Merula snorted.

“Us, of course,” David said coolly.

“How do would we know you’re not lying,” Talbott asked. David and Judith looked at each other and back at them.

“Maybe because we don’t like each other like that,” Judith offered.

“Maybe because we could’ve gotten together a long time ago if that was the case,” David added.

“Maybe because we never started flirting with each other until a rumor started?”

Maybe because our friends, especially in Hufflepuff, would’ve saw this coming a long time ago?”

“Or maybe because we wouldn’t lie to you because we care about you,” they finished together. Talbott and Merula looked at them shocked before they’ve started blushing.

Judith and David shared eerily similar smirks that made the Ravenclaw wizard and Slytherin witch take a step back.

“Is there something you want to tell us,” Judith asked in a sing-a-long voice. Talbott shook his head.

“W-what?! N-no,” Talbott denied, though his voice didn’t come out as forceful as he hoped.

“Is it possible you were jealous,” David teased. Merula blushed harder.

“M-me? Jealous of H-Harris?! Get real, Willows! The Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts doesn’t get j...jealous,” Merula snapped weakly.

“Are you sure,” Judith continued, thoroughly enjoying seeing the two squirm.

“I-I... I have no reason to be jealous of David,” Talbott retorted.

“Are you sure you don’t like us? Even a little bit,” David chuckled, enjoying the rare sight as well.

Talbott and Merula didn’t even answer and they took off in separate directions, seeking the relief from the unexpected interrogation from the Hufflepuff duo.

David and Judith laughed as they headed upstairs.

With the fact that Merula and Talbott may feel the same way about them, they had more of a reason to disband the rumor of them being together.

After all, they had to be single of they wanted to get with their crush...

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golden-kinks · 3 years

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Eskel Feminization

Okay so like. Several months ago I prompted Eskel+feminization from @keys-to-the-kinkdom and got a very lovely Eskel/Letho ficlet out of the bargain (which you can find here, go tell keys how wonderful they are!)

But once it was in my head Eskel and feminization would not leave my mind, so I went and wrote out a couple other concepts and I figured I’d share with the class, especially since I got whacked over the head with Housewife Eskel the other day. I may write some of these into ficlets before I’m done, they’ve got a hold of me again, so watch this space

Geralt and Eskel, playing at knights and damsels as lads, and Geralt always wanted to be the knight and Eskel got to be the damsel in distress, and didn’t realize at the time exactly *why* he was so ok with this, but for sure it led to some sexual experimentation at the time. One of them brings it back up again when they’re grown, perhaps, and *whew* does Eskel go off like a shot when Geralt takes him into his arms like those trashy bodice ripper novels.

If we want to stay with the theme of Eskel getting to feel small, any Bear witcher is also a good option, they seem like they’d have someone who’d be delighted to set this sweet little thing in his lap to look up through long, dark eyelashes, and gasp with the prettiest bowed lips when big hands work up soft, curvy thighs to brush over a needy cunt. Eskel, demure and shy in a way that’s only the slightest bit exaggerated, and more a result of being so overwhelmingly turned on but this.

Aiden invites Eskel to come play with him and Lambert, because he’s seen the looks Eskel has given when Aiden calls Lamb “sweetheart” or “beautiful” and Aiden’s a generous guy, he’s got it in him to give his cock to gorgeous ladies, no need to fight over him. Lambert and Eskel helping each other dress up for “date night” and Aiden getting to have one on each arm, maybe inviting Geralt in to make it a proper double date. (This is edging a little into modern au, I think). Eskel getting called “babydoll” and he just about comes on the spot.

#golden feminization #not dead dove #i make no guarantees but if someone is really hype about any of these they may be more likely to get written

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louloubabys1992 · 4 years

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Five Favs of 2020

I was tagged by the amazingly talented @mercurial-madhouse to do this and I thank you for it as its been a while since I’ve looked at my fics or any of my work really....so here goes :D

RULES: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work.

1-Hang there like fruit, my soul/Till the tree die

Fic summary;

''You still want me?'' he asks, voice thick. ''Yes,'' Harry's answer is absolute, almost defiant. ''But my hands are empty,'' Louis shakes his head. ''I've got nothing to offer you.'' ''I don't care about that. Do you see my hands?'' Harry asks before he cups Louis' face. His touch is gentle. He's always gentle when it comes to Louis. ''When I'm not holding you, I feel empty, but like this,'' he presses closer until their faces are inches apart. He caresses the apple of Louis' cheeks and that's when Louis realizes that he's spilled tears and Harry's wiping them. He didn't even notice; too busy looking into Harry's kind, kind, kind alpha eyes. ''I feel like I'm holding the world and I don't feel empty anymore,''

Louis knows he's a defective omega. He knows its also not his fault but it is what it is. He takes the world head on even when the world is unkind to him. Not Harry though; stubborn as he is, he doesn't back down, not when it comes to Louis

Note;

Those who read this fic know that this is my first ever abo fic. I wrote this in a time when I thought the world was ending. I had been on lockdown like the rest of us with not much to do and yet all the time in the world to finally do what I’m truly passionate about, which is writing. I don’t know if anyone noticed this but the difference between this fic and my latest one was six months (aside from a 16 chapter fic which I was writing almost simultaneously with ‘’Hang there’’ so for it to get any kudos or comments at all is quite unbelievable to me and I am really proud of the journey it took me on. It was one bumpy but amazing ride.

2-As the snow flies

Fic Summary:

’'I can’t sleep without you anymore. Got used to you.’’ Harry is always like that, so transparent with his feelings, so abundant with his love. He cuddles Niall the most, always stares up at Zayn like he’s something cool and out of this world, always attentively serious with Liam and always helping Leona out in the kitchen. He’s not so different from the shy, timid boy he’d first met, still stands pigeon toed when he’s waiting for Louis and the lads to go home after school, still stands with his shoulders all hunched but then he sees Louis and suddenly he’s taller, brighter, smile and dimples on full display.

He’s so beautiful.

-Or the fic in which Louis and Harry are foster kids who get separated long before they could even understand what loving each other means. They were so young and since then, circumstances had made Louis tough, had forced him to harden up. What happens when he and Harry meet again?

Notes:

Probably the easiest fic I’ve ever written because the idea had been swirling in my head for years, I just never had the time to sit down and put pen on paper (or letters on a word document hahah). It’s not for the faint of heart, I know, but I’ve always wanted to write it and flush it out of my system and when I did finally start writing it, it wasn’t as hard as writing my other fics. Like, I knew how it would end, I knew what scenes I had to cut out, what fit, what did not fit and I have to say, even though the outcome is not the way I had imagined it at first but it is everything it was meant to be in the end :D

3-The Boy with the Tin Chest and a Glass Heart

Written for the @bottomlouisficfest

Fic summary:

Alpha Harry Styles, world-renowned author of fairy-tales, is being persuaded by the Beta, Liam Payne to hire a new illustrator. Since Harry’s own illustrations are too graphic for what is supposed to be children’s stories, Liam feels the need is dire. Omega Louis does not agree with Liam since he believes that Harry’s stories are fine just the way they are. Of course this has nothing to do with Louis being totally biased or totally head over heels for Harry. It certainly has nothing to do with being jealous of the mysterious omega illustrator Liam has in mind to team Harry up with. Seriously, it has nothing to do with that at all. Nothing, absolutely nothing, zilch, nada. Yeah...

Notes;

During my time of self isolation while the world tore itself apart, I busied myself with writing and watching k-drama series to distract from being anxious and swept by it all. It did wonders for me, occupying my time like that as I have always loved writing and this year, I found a new love for korean actors and their dramas and I have to say, their stories have such amazing plot lines. This fic is heavily inspired by one k-drama series called ‘’its okay not to be okay’’ starring Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Yea-ji (I hope I got the names spelled right). Please do watch it if you haven’t already :D

4-The Importance of being Earnest

part of the @1000feelingsfics

fic summary;

Harry cannot help but pay extra attention to Louis' order, even if it is just a warm cup of tea with a dash of milk and no sugar. He also makes sure that the Danish Louis asks for is warm and fresh from the oven and not the one in the display, even if it means delaying Louis a bit when he fetches said Danish from the kitchen. It's all worth it when Louis smiles his crinkly smile at him before he rushes off to work.

Man, he's hot, he cannot help but think.

Or Harry is a barista who's been harboring a crush on Louis for months. Little does he know that Louis actually likes him back.

Note:

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before but this fic was included in a podcast which has never happened to me before and I am so so so happy and proud that my fic got that type of attention (or any attention at all hahahaha) so like, it is quite special to me and honestly, a lot of the fics written for the @1000feelingsfics challenge are really, truly incredible

5-Bed of Nails

fic summary;

Louis has been keeping a secret for a very long time. The boys don’t know because he doesn’t tell them, not because he doesn’t want to but because he doesn’t think they need to know or be bothered by his troubled past. When they find out, they look at Louis differently. But Harry doesn’t. No, he loves Louis and will do anything in his power for his love to find its way through the cracks.

Or the one where Louis has a troubled past that catches up to him and Harry does his best to save him from it.

Notes:

This is my longest fic ever, not just in chapter count but in time (it took me actual years to finish it, whew, what a journey). A lot of things happened while writing this fic but one event that stands out among the rest; I lost my younger brother back in 2016. He was only 23 years old. I started writing this fic in 2015 and finished it January 2020. Losing George crippled me both mentally and emotionally. I had no power, no inspiration and definitely no will to do anything but try and seem okay for the sake of my grieving parents. I bottled it all up to try and seem strong in front of them and in return, I forgot about anything else, including my passions and my hobbies. It took me a herculean effort to finish this fic and I mostly did it because writing to me, is like an itch. I can stop writing sure but every once in a while, that itch that nags at you like an incessant person knocking, begging you to just open up the door on the swirl of words blasting your brain in the middle of the night, begging you to just do something, doesn’t ever completely go away. So, I didn’t ignore it and decided to finish it, no matter how long it took. The itch to write went away after that and a sense of calm and accomplishment took over instead. I miss George till this day. Nothing will ever turn off that feeling but writing to me, in any form, whether in my journal or fics or whatever, does have the power to push me through the day.

And there goes; my 2020 fics. I want to tag a lot of people but I think most people I know here already did it but if you see this or read this, take that as your cue to do it too. We all need some self love in this world and self love is what we deserve.

Happy new year everybody :D

#fics #larry fics

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dirtyhuantingthings · 3 years

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The Baroness

Part 3

did you miss part two?

“So how was your night with The Baroness?” Porthos finally asked. They were nearly to the garrison.

“I -uh-no.” It seemed praying Porthos hadn’t noticed wasn’t a successful strategy. “Plants!” Aramis blurted out. “Datura! Queen of the Night!”

“Are you having a fit?” Porthos side eyed Aramis.

“There was a bug trapping..” Aramis snapped to jostle his memory “Nafensis- napresis- nafensus?

“Nepenthes?” Porthos offered.

“Yes!- wait you know about the rat eating plants?” Aramis exclaimed.

“I’ve read about them” Porthos said curtly.

“Whew... Honestly, I was much more worried about trying to explain that absurdity than anything else” Aramis breathed.

“So?” Porthos was curious.

“The concoction she used to knock us out, is made from flowers that only bloom at night. I have a sample. And she made be willing to part with the recipe for a steep price and a blood oath of secrecy, I’m guessing” said Aramis. “So are you going to write her then?” he said after a pause.

“Poetry?” Porthos laughed.

“Hey, don’t I always look out for you?“ said Aramis putting his hands on Porthis shoulder.

“Whatever would or wouldn’t have happened...I just. We should be honest about it” Porthos said as they rounded the corner to the garrison.

Before they could even get past the gates D'artagnan ran up to meet them.

“I know you’ve only just arrived. But I don’t know who else to go to with this” D'artagnan appeared overwhelmed. “Can we go somewhere privately?” he asked.

D'artagnan explained the whole situation very quickly.

“Constance is in trouble?” Porthos said alarmed.

“No, It’s her dearest friend Corinne.” D'artagnan corrected.

“But if her husband skipped town..isn’t that a good thing?” Aramis asked.

“No, he’s left Paris, with Corrinne” D'artagnan clarified.

“And there’s no clue as to where he would have taken her?” Porthos asked.

“Well, we know that the people he borrowed money from are to be taken very seriously. They are looking for him. So leaving altogether, he might be easily spotted at ports of entry. Constance says he’s a known coward, he often lays low until things that have calmed down. It’s reasonable to assume that he’s going to stay hidden until he think they’re bored of looking for him and then flee the country” D'artagnan laid out all the plausible scenarios.

“What are we to do? I mean even if we can track them down? Porthos very much wanted to help but he wasn’t sure what could be done.

“The man is a noted scoundrel, petty crimes, his mean streak while under the influence of drink is well known. It took some doing but, Corrinne’s sister has already spoken to the judge, he’s willing to dissolve the union on health grounds.”

“That’s..” Aramis started.

“Unusual” Porthos finished.

“It appears this judge is quite particular in cases involving mothers; being separated from their children and the fact that this foul piece of” D’Artangan clinched his fists. “Has taken Corinne away and left her young child with her sister. Well -it’s got to work in our favor that combined with Corrinne in the condition that she is, and with the husband afoul of the law, her sister is in a better position to take care of her and her young child until she can recover. If we can just physically get her back here. He will sign the waiver. Corrinne and her child can legally move in with her sister.” D'artagnan looked to his fellow musketeers.

“So you think he’s on the outskirts of Paris, waiting for an opportunity to flee?” Porthos asked turning to Aramis.

“We might have an idea” Aramis said.

Baroness Beausoleil put down her tea cup

“Unofficial business?” The Baroness clarified.

“We can’t reimburse you for-” Aramis started.

“That’s not my concern” The Baroness interrupted. “Why are you doing this?”

“We may not having any legal means of remedying the situation but Constance is our friend and men like -they’re scum” Porthos said through clenched teeth.

“There’s plenty of space here. How long do you need?” The Baroness stood abruptly.

“So you’ll do it?” Aramis brightened.

The Baroness stared in annoyance, narrowing her eyes at Aramis.

“Six days, at most” Porthos answered her question.

The Baroness considered it momentarily “Margot can set you up in some rooms. If you will excuse me, I should already be at the market.” The Baroness turned and walked away.

“Don’t take it personal” Margot said.

The musketeers jumped in alarm.

“Jules has to look after his sick wife’s poor mother and she’s doing the market today in her own. She’s really behind.” Margot explained.

“I can help” Aramis found Baroness Beausoleil counting and recounting a crate of bottles. At least three pencils perched in her tangled mess of curls.

“Oh- no. I just” Baroness trailed off frowning at her products.

Aramis placed a hand on her arm. “It’s the least we can do.”

After everything was loaded onto the carriage and the two of them were well on their way Baroness Beausoleil remained a fidgety mess.

“Is everything alright?” Aramis asked.

“You know the women I told you about?” she ignored his question.

“The ones who are most certainly plotting to murder their husbands?” Aramis half joked.

The Baroness shrugged off his comment. “We meet at a certain time, early. Before the general public arrives. They won’t want a King’s guard sniffing about”

“I assure you I will be discreet. I am a mere work hand hired in Jules’s absence” Aramis pressed his hand to his heart.

The Baroness let out a slow breath. “That will be the best place to find her.”

“What? Who? Corinne?” Aramis said confused.

“Not today. If she just got into town. But by week’s end. If things are how you say. Women who have endured as she has. She will seek me out the moment she has leave to.” The Baroness explained.

“But if he’s holding her captive-” Aramis began to protest.

“A drunk?” A failure of man by all accounts? No he will need her to do the cooking and the procuring of clothes- if they have in fact left in a hurry. A man such as that is not capable of feeding himself. She will be sent out to get food if nothing else and is she is in a mind to see her child again she will become desperate and she will ask around- she will have no choice” The Baroness concluded.

Aramis nodded gravely. Neither of them said much until they arrived at the market. Already busy with merchants, Aramis looked around a the chaos, smiling it reminded him of the bustle of the city.

“There you are!” A gruff older man said in a heavy baritone. “I was just giving you stall away”

“I’m sorry! Jules’s wife’s mother came down with- I got here as soon as I could” The Baroness looked frantic.

“Sorry lad, the Lady has arrived after all” the large man shooed off some orange hair man with a healthy mustache.

“Thank you so much” The Baroness pulled out a bag filled with bottles of what Aramis did not know, but it appeared she had anticipated running into this exact situation. She turned to Aramis.

“We’ve got one half-hour before we open” Baroness Beausoleil turned to Aramis.

The two worked fervently until the sun began to droop over the horizon. Aramis plopped on a nearby stool. This is a lot of work.

The Baroness was talking to a blonde women with two rambunctious children racing around the both of them, screeching at the top of their lungs. Aramis was just considering taking a brief nap when Baroness Beausoleil returned.

The Baroness returned, “That woman there, Mrs. Veilleux, she hasn’t heard of anyone new arriving into to town but if anyone's to know about it, it should be her. She can get word to me.

Aramis beamed, knowing he had made the right decision.

“But that’s it for today.” The Baroness said with some relief.

“Really?” Aramis asked hopeful.

“The rest are special order. I will have them ready for next time. I -just wanted to say thank you, Renee you were of great help today. I wouldn't’ have gotten through the day without you.” The Baroness looked intently at him.

Aramis blushed a bit, his name somehow sweeter rolling of her tongue. He cleared his throat. “It’s not problem at all.

The two proceeded to deconstruct the tent in a companionable silence and loaded everything into the cart just as the late breaking sun reached highest in the sky. The trip back should have felt shorter but it appeared to stretch long on into a muggy afternoon.

Aramis felt hot and cooped up in the small carriage. More comfortable riding horseback. Unaccustomed to being boxed in a cramped space with a breathtaking woman he was not allowed to touch. Aramis tried to think of a last time any woman was considered off limits. He couldn’t. The things he did for love. Porthos better have written a whole sonnet for Alice by the time they got back. I can do this Aramis told himself. I am a supportive friend. They are crafted for each other. They are going visit every library in the country and talk about bugs or whatever else. he was going to be a loyal friend. He was going to increase Porthos’ proficiency in the romantic arts. He was going to...He was going to suffocate if he didn't’ out of this carriage.

“Stop! Stop! Here please” Aramis shouted to the driver and flung himself out of the carriage before it even came close to a stop. The Baroness called after him. He wasn’t quite sure what she said.

“I’ll just need a minute” Aramis called behind him.

He stumbled several yards from the dusty road and leaned against a narrow tree to catch his breath. Get hold of yourself Renee. You’re a musketeer. Aramis took a few deep breaths and up-righted himself. A few paces more and he found himself in a clearing. A grave yard actually. He came across an old stone mausoleum. Over grown with vines most everywhere but the grave markers, the foot paths and the low stones benches. As old as it was, someone was doing their best to keep it up.

“Have you someone here?” The Baroness’ voice came from behind.

Startled Aramis whirled around. “No.” Aramis shook his head “ Coincidence. I just saw this clearing I just needed- the heat” Aramis failed to come up with a viable excuse. The Baroness skirts were hiked up to her thighs to keep from snagging on the brambles. She had a light sheen of sweat that glimmered across her brow. Aramis couldn’t bring himself to look higher than her waist line. She handed him water bladder he accepted it gratefully. But wouldn’t look at her. Couldn’t, look at her.

“We should really” Alice started but Aramis took a few steps back.

“Apologies Baroness. If I could just have a few more moments.” Aramis asked backing into the square courtyard.

“Of course.” Alice said backing away.

As if being pulled on a string Aramis felt himself drift towards her. As if he let her leave now, he’d never see her again. An absurd thought. Six days. He just had to keep himself together for six days. He could manage this. He would be busy tracking this scoundrel and he just had to. Aramis felt the wind shift. It blew threw her hair and that dammed fragrance, what was it? It filled his every thought. Aramis closed his eyes against it, trying to shut it out.

“Are you sure you’re alright.” Alice looked concerned.

“To be honest Baroness Beausoleil. I’m starting to re-think if it’s appropriate to h-house, perhaps there is a close enough establishment, that. I could -find” Aramis’ fractured words echoed off of the stone courtyard.

The Baroness stood patiently.

Aramis was dotted in sweat. “I won’t be able to ride back with you I’m afraid, Baroness Beausoleil” Aramis concluded hands gripping each other behind his back.

“You intend to walk back to my estate?” Alice said with a smile.

“I Intend to locate another means of traversing the road and yes I will reconvene with you just as soon as I follow up on an in-inquiry.” Aramis stammered.

“An inquiry?” Alice took a step towards him.

“If you could just” Aramis tried to think of something reasonable to say.

“Just?” Alice took another step.

“Alice” Aramis pleaded.

The Baroness strode past Armais and set at the top of the stone steps. “You have until the sun reaches there” She pointed in the sky. “You do whatever you need to do but then you come back with me and you find is man” she instructed. “Before anything happens.”

Aramis swallowed. “That’s just it. I know time is short. I haven’t had a single thought in my mind other than. Since - I’m seeing your face- Just tell me there’s no chance. Just-” Aramis was at the Baroness’ feet now.

“What is keeping you from focusing on finding Corinne?” The Baroness asked.

Aramis climbed up one step and then another. He teased at the edge of the Baroness skirts with his fingers. “You know” He looked sheepishly up at her. Tentatively Aramis inched his hand upwards under the Baroness’ skirts. Past her knee, toward her inner thigh. He pressed his lips against her in adoration, his and fingers working on concert until he felt her tense and shudder and settle.

It didn’t take long to retrace their steps and locate the carriage, the driver patiently waiting. The Baroness looked composed but Aramis did a poor job of hiding a wide smile even as they pulled back onto the estate.

#the musketeers #aramis x porthos #porthos #aramis

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peirates · 5 years

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‘Did the Romans and ancient Greeks ... ?’

Google autocomplete is a gem and a curse. Inspired by @todayintokyo’s post on questions about Japan, I thought I’d have a look at what people are asking about Rome and classical Greece and, wow...

Christmas holidays leave a lot of time for milling around, so I’ll answer them in case anyone’s interested. (Please forgive me if any of this is incorrect/incoherent, it’s nearly 11pm as I’m writing this lol)

Did the Romans speak Latin?

Yes, Latin was Rome’s (and the Roman Empire’s) official language! Of course, many Romans or foreigners in Rome spoke other languages for the sake of communication, trade and education - Greek was particularly popular among the nobility - but Latin was what they all had in common.

Did the Romans invade Scotland?

Long story short, no. They tried, failed, and built Hadrian’s Wall to keep the ‘barbarian’ Gaels out - southern Britain was already too cold and muddy for the temperate Romans, not much point in losing more lives over more mud.

(Hadrian’s Wall was what inspired Game of Thrones’ The Wall, as confirmed by G.R.R. Martin himself, but Hadrian’s was nowhere near as high, thick or long.)

Did the Romans have glass?

Absolutely! In fact, their skill with it was much more artistic and masterful than the average glassmaker today, just search ‘roman glassware’ here on Tumblr or on Google images to see what I mean.

Did the Romans invent concrete?

Yep! It’s famed for its durability, which is due to its contents of volcanic ash (Pompeii flashbacks), lime and seawater. The seawater reacted with the ash over time to give it its strength and anti-cracking nature.

In fact, the Roman method was so effective that it lasts for far longer than modern concrete (modernity/Westernisation =/= progression, it seems) and scientists today are trying to find ways to revitalise it.

Did the Romans eat pizza? / Did the Romans eat pasta?

Sadly not, only later Italians did. Their empire deserved to crumble for not inventing either smh.

Did the Romans invade Britain? / Did the Romans invade England?

They did indeed in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and they only began to withdraw in the late 300s when the city of Rome was being threatened by a Germanic tribe called the Visigoths.

Did the Romans invade Ireland?

No. Even now, archaeologists have no idea to what extent they communicated or even knew of each other.

Did the Romans celebrate Christmas?

Emperor Constantine only began converting the empire to Christianity from AD 313 (they had been pagan previously), and the earliest evidence we have of Romans celebrating Christmas was in 336 AD, very late in Roman history. Throughout most of Roman history, therefore, no they did not celebrate Christmas.

(They did have a festival which was similarly important and similarly timed (mid-December) called the Saturnalia. It also involved communal partying, gift exchanges and a general spirit of liberty (e.g. slaves could order around and punish their masters) - it was one of the most anticipated festivals of the Roman calendar. However, the purpose was very different: it was to worship the pagan god Saturn, the father of god-king Jupiter and the previous ruler of the world before its occupation by humanity. Namely, the festival marked a return to the ancient ‘Golden Age’ in which nature was dominant, peaceful and uncorrupted.)

Did ancient Greece have emperors? / Did ancient Greece have kings?

No emperors, traditionally Greece was comprised of city-states ruled by kings (or theoretically by the dēmos, the people, if you were Athens). Under Roman occupation it did answer to Rome’s leaders (consuls, then later emperors), but the idea of emperors was much more late-Roman than Greek.

Did ancient Greece celebrate Christmas?

Nope. It was originally pagan and did not celebrate any Christian holidays until a) it was conquered by Rome b) Rome later converted to Christianity, thus enforcing it on the rest of the empire. However, this conversion point was so long after the ‘heroic’ and ‘classical’ periods of Greece that by the time it did become mostly Christian, it was no longer ‘ancient Greece’ in the same sense.

Did ancient Greece have electricity?

Y’all are asking the real questions out here, that’s for sure lmao.

Nope, electricity wasn’t used anywhere as a power source until Thomas Edison’s studies about two thousand years later.

God though, a good ol’ GPS would have saved Odysseus a lot of trouble.

Did ancient Greece and Rome overlap?

Oh, nelly...

Greece predated Rome by at nearly a thousand years, but Greece’s and Rome’s histories together lasted for centuries, even before the latter conquered the former. It’s why they are studied together as one field of academia. Many Italian settlements were in fact Greek colonies. Classical Greek helped shape Latin. Much of Roman religion was inspired by that of the Greeks. Many Greeks could speak Latin and many Romans could speak Greek. Roman art, philosophy and architecture was particularly fascinated by that which was Greek - to put it in meme format, the crab is Roman culture and the crocodile is Greek culture. And these are just the absolute basics, entire tomes have been written on Greece’s and Rome’s somewhat symbiotic relationship.

TLDR hell yes they did.

Did ancient Greece have a flag? / Did ancient Greece have a constitution?

Nah. Although history often refers to Greece as one country, one culture, it was more a collection of independent city-states with their own identities and constitutions.

They all had three things in common: religion (+ the moral/social codes which came along with it), language, and (in most cases) enemies from abroad - therefore in later centuries, as well as their city-based nationalities, they did all call themselves the Hellenes. If you were a fellow Hellenic, you’d be able to work and live in other Greek cities with less trouble than if you were to try, say, in a ‘barbarian’ land such as Persia. Greeks were civilised; everyone else was an uncultured brute. Hence, their sense of unity was more from fear of the outside, from xenophobia, than from internal harmony.

Because of this, there was never an altogether complete sense of assimilation. Different cities had distinct dialects, favoured different gods/cults within the wider Pantheon, often warred against each other (especially Athens and Sparta, whew), fed their own specific cultures and law-sets and reputations. Nationality and citizenship in that age were not really about country or region, the world was just too small for that. You wouldn’t say ‘Hi I’m Phoebe and I’m Greek’, you’d say ‘Hi I’m Phoebe and I’m from the city of Halicarnassus.’ The closest analogy I can really think of is the cities in the dystopian series, Mortal Engines.

So no, they didn’t have a single flag or constitution. There was just not enough unity between them all.

Did ancient Greece trade?

Initially I was going to wave this off as a silly question because ‘hurr durr everyone trades’ but ACTUALLY.

Along with the rest of the eastern Mediterranean, Greece had its own Dark Ages between the fall of its early society (aka Mycenaean Greece) and the rise of Homeric-style poetry and culture, i.e. between the 1100s and 700s BC. Communication in general was absolutely awful: there were no great armies, no great cultural progressions, and yes, no substantial trade. The fact that Greece was then feeling down in the dumps also discouraged foreign trade.

It took the bard Homer’s influence to get people to start thinking, creating, travelling and thus mass-trading again - this sudden surge in activity eventually led to Greece’s Classical Period, i.e. 4th century BC, you’ll probably imagine gleaming Athenian pillars. Increased thinking and culture led to increased politics/nationalism, increased p/n led to increased warring and military action, increased warring improved transport and communication, and WHOOSH suddenly trade took off.

So basically, Mycenaean Greek trade was good (as far as we can tell), Dark Ages Greek trade was shocking, Classical Greek trade was quite literally revolutionary.

Did ancient Greece have lions?

Yep! However, they weren’t like the sub-Saharan lions you’re probably imagining right now - those are Panthera leo, but the Eurasian lions that would have been in Greece were Panthera spelaea.

Nevertheless there were indeed lions and they played a huge role in Greek mythology and literature. The Nemean Lion was the first of Hercules’ Twelve Labours; Homer, the trendsetting legendary lad that he was, created a trope of comparing something innocent and vulnerable to something vicious and savage and desperate by using the analogy of a lamb and a hungry lion.

Did ancient Greece have a democracy?

Nope, only one city named Athens did. Don’t get me wrong, it was at the time and still is a big deal considering it hadn’t been done before, BUT there are three important things to note:

It was ONLY Athens which had a democracy - every other Greek city kept their kingships.

The Athenian democracy wasn’t what we’d call democracy. Only free, Athenian-on-both-sides men could vote and participate in local politics - this left out all slaves, all women (even if they were Athenian), and all foreigners or residents of foreign descent (no longer how long you and your family had lived in and worked in and contributed to the city and community).

It wasn’t foolproof considering it eventually got overthrown by power-seeking tyrants.

i.e. a part of ancient Greece had a democracy.

#classics #tagammemnon #classicsblr #rome #ancient rome #latin #ancient greece #classical greek #greece #[#classics: history #classics: language #|#did the romans and ancient greeks #google autocomplete #]

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ununniliad · 4 years

Text

WikiLull EXHALE: “After the After”

November 15th, 2016. The lawn outside LNHQ, which is currently in the process of being rebuilt.

There was a great battle here.

...well, since this is the headquarters of the LNH, there have been many great battles here, and many more yet to come. But today feels like the day after a great, terrible battle, tho in fact it's been a week; coming down from the edge is like that, sometimes. And in a way it's been much longer, almost four years; recovering from trauma is like that, sometimes.

Nevertheless, the battle is over. There's a wind through the trees, blowing off the brightly-colored leaves; the world is stepping back, sitting down, and letting out its breath.

A single oak leaf, red and mottled with brown spots, tumbles down through the air, whirling in the cool autumn breeze. It flips, floats down... and disappears into a bubble of swirling darkness, inky colors shimmering and shifting like an oil slick on its surface. The bubble grows to the side of a person, then pops - and Cheesecake-Eater Lad and Token Girl tumble to the ground. A moment later, a tall, muscular blond woman with red eyes and subtle Star Trek-ian ridges on her face lands solidly on her feet - Captain LNH.

Token Girl coughs, pushing herself up, hands on her knees. "Whew. Felt like I was gonna turn inside-out."

Captain LNH chuckles, helping her to her feet. "That's what it's like, traveling from Looniverse-Astaroth, gateway to the Deep Omnilooniverse."

"Yeah, I think I liked it better back when we called it alt.comics.lnh." Token Girl stretches her arms, hands palm-out in front of her, and lets out a tension-releasing yawn. "How're you doing, Cheesy?"

Cheesecake-Eater Lad pounds himself on the chest and coughs. "Good thing I have such a strong stomach, that's all I'm saying." He shakes his head and turns to Captain LNH. "And you really want to... I mean, of course it's your decision."

Captain LNH nods firmly. "It is, and I do. I'm not..." She looks up at the LNHQ. "Not ready to come back."

"I get it... I think." Cheesecake-Eater Lad puts on a brave smile, but its edges start drooping. "I'm just... you spent so long in your own head. Uh, you didn't have a body at the time, but you know what I mean."

"Right, yeah. But not..." Captain LNH grabs her own shoulder, squeezes it. "Not all of us heal by talking about it. At least not right away."

oh god please let me step away from this awkward conversation, thinks Token Girl.

"Right. Well." Cheesecake-Eater Lad takes Captain LNH's hand, puts his over it. "I support you. And the Deep Omnilooniverse couldn't have a better defender."

Captain LNH smiles, a soft wave of starlight rolling thru her hair. "And the regular Looniverse couldn't have a better Anchor of Indulgence."

Cheesecake-Eater Lad chuckles. "Yeah, uh, you'll have to ask Unixepoch what that actually means, the next time you talk to him." He let go of her hands, and she took a step back.

"Will do. See you later, Tara!" Captain LNH begins to float up in the air, cosmic energy coalescing around her body.

Token Girl lets out a breath. "Right. Looking forward to it! Bring me some of the anime merch Looniverse-Murmur has, it looked amazing!"

Captain LNH laughs. "Gotcha. Oh, and keep an eye on the Loonited States for me. That new president..." She shakes her head, smiling. The energies swirl around her body, forming into a swirling bubble of bright colors, shafts of light shining out from the globular mass. It shimmers bright - then seems to zoom away, from every angle, until it is out of sight.

Cheesecake-Eater Lad takes off his toque, runs his hands thru his hair. "Whew." He turns to Token Girl. "We should probably--"

WHUMPF! He's lifted off his feet and up into the arms of a tall, pudgy, freckled woman who showers his face with kisses. "Oh my goodness dear I missed you!"

He squirms in her arms and laughs, wriggling out and onto the ground. "Jeez, hon." His cheeks are a-blush, and Token Girl smirks. "It was only a couple hours."

"Yes, and a couple decades before that, so forgive me my clinginess." She pulls him in close and presses him to her side.

He wiggles pleasantly, and a lithe, athletic woman in an abbreviated ninja outfit walks around his other side. She leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Hearty Homecoming, Husband! Our Wonderful Wife Was Worried, but your Safety Surely Seemed Secure, by Superhuman Skill and Cosmic Competence!" She slides in, snuggling both of them and smiling at Token Girl.

Cheesecake-Eater Lad blushes. "Ah, I believe you know my wives, aLLiterative Lass and Petunia Boonspackle."

Token Girl nods! "Right. aLLi's a co-worker, of course, and I met Petunia back during the whole Neme.sys thing."

"Ah yes, Tara the Multinaut!" Petunia releases Cheesecake-Eater Lad in order to clasp Token Girl's hand in both of her large, warm hands. "Thank you so much, for helping weave our timelines together."

"Aw, don't worry about it," says Token Girl, blushing herself. Gosh, this lady's presence feels comforting, like a crackling fireplace. "I've always been a shipper, anyway. And if the history where Cheesy's alive can coexist with the one where he's dead, it's a minor problem to make the one where he's married to Petunia coexist with the one where he's married to aLLi."

"'Specially Since Sapphic Sisters Surely Sign-off," says aLLiterative Lass. "Truly, Triads Treat Tenderly. Will you Witness our Wonderful Wedding?"

"Er..." Token Girl's eyes swivel back and forth. "Aren't you already...?"

"Separately," notes Petunia, "but since polygamous marriage is legal in this timeline [The Liminals #1 - Footnote Flower Girl], we wanted to let everybody know that this isn't two marriages, or even three, it's one big one." She puts her arm around aLLi, who rests her head on the taller woman.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," smiles Token Girl. "...unless I have to save the world that day, of course."

"Then that can be your present," says Petunia, smiling wide and giving Token Girl a thumbs-up.

"Precipitant Perfidy is a Powerful Possibility with that Present President," says aLLi, rolling her eyes.

"Now, now, let's save the politics for later. For now, we must be off~" Petunia hefts a squeaking Cheesecake-Eater Lad up under one arm, and aLLi under the other. "Picking up the daughters~"

"Right! See you later!" Token Girl chuckles under her breath as she watches them head off. Maybe this is what being the Looniversal Anchor of Indulgence means - making the people around you happy by making yourself happy. Well, good - they all deserve to be happy for a very long time.

She looks up at the clear blue sky, streaked with whispery clouds, and feels herself inch back from that sense of panic and emergency. There will be more emergencies, more world-shaking battles; but for now, she strolls casually back into LNHQ, looking for cheesecake.

The usual crowd is milling about in the lobby, chatting, getting the mail, rushing out to desperately stop a net.villain, learning the true meaning of Armistice Day, and so on. Subtle breezes flow thru the room, the tarp over the partially-destroyed wall flapping in the wind.

Token Girl makes her way thru the crowd with practiced skill, heading towards the hallway door until she spies a cluster of people and people-like entities that she can't let herself miss.

Escape Lass hefts a bowl of apples under her arm. "...can't sustain over-the-air signals, they just bleed out between the dimensional apertures, so we'll have to lay cable the whole way."

"Which is a problem," speaks the bowl of apples, in fact the MicroMAC Quadcore, "since it is an indeterminate distance which, likely, shall change in indeterminable ways over time."

"Right," says Escape Lass, voice filling with problem-solving enthusiasm, "which-- oh, Tara!" She bounces in her blue short-sleeve straitjacket towards Token Girl, wrapping her free arm around her and squeezing her tight to her side.

Token Girl squirms in surprise, but laughs. "Hey, Evie. Y'all about to head out?"

"I think we are," says Escape Lass, letting go of Token Girl and putting Quadcore in her arms. Token Girl blinks at the robot in disguise, who doesn't blink back, as his form currently lacks eyes. "Foreshadowing Lad, how's it looking?"

"Hmmmm..." Foreshadowing Lad stretches out an arm clad in green spandex, and smiles up at Escape Lass. "Feels like we're almost at a happy ending."

Escape Lass grins, takes Foreshadowing Lad's hand, spins him around, dips him back and kisses him, then lets him go~ The young man stumbles back into the arms of his other partner, Non-Judgmental Agnostic, who squeezes him in a tight hug.

"Man, everybody's in a triad nowadays," says Token Girl, chuckling and handing Quadcore back.

"We'd invite you in and make it a quad," says Non-Judgmental Agnostic in her soft, tinkling, quasi-divine voice, "but I'm afraid it would turn into a Great LNH Polycule and swallow Net.ropolis."

Token Girl flushes. "Uh, so uh, y'all are going to make your way back to your world, Escape Lass?"

Escape Lass nods firmly. "Right. We're going to head down into the depths of the LNHQ, down to the point where the LNHQs of different universes start mingling to save on storage space, and find our way home to the Legacy of Newfangled Hierophants."

"Newly designated Looniverse-Bael," speaks Quadcore.

"That's right, in the Deep Omnilooniverse... ah, dammit." Token Girl tsks at herself. "We could've had Captain LNH take you back."

Escape Lass shakes her head! "No, don't forget, we have to leave a trail of breadcrumbs back."

"Preferably in the form of interuniversal messaging system," speaks Quadcore. "If we can overcome these significant technical issues."

"That's right," nods Token Girl, dislodging some of the details she learned during that whole confusing shebang. "You got a lot of people who'd like to emigrate."

"Right, tho your Looniverse isn't our main destination." Escape Lass smiles down at Quadcore. "Somebody made us a better offer."

"Ohhhh..." Token Girl looks between the lady and the robot and it clicks. "Ohhhhh-- with *them*!"

Escape Girl laughs, fingers half-covering her mouth as her eyes sparkle, and nods. "Right."

"That's-- wow," says Token Girl, processing the idea. "A world with tiny robots and giant humans feels very Deep Omnilooniverse, but it's not what I would have expected them to--"

"Cower, fools!" A figure leaps into their midst, with the swish of a cape! He rolls back his head and opens his mouth to let out a megalomaniacal cackle!

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Mueh-heh-heh-heh! ...how was that?"

"... it sounds like you're making progress!" says Non-Judgmental Agnostic supportively!

The figure smiles in delight. He looks like a very normal person, with hair a few tones darker than his skin and eyes that are a color. The only odd things about him are the crimson circuitry running down from his eyes, over his chin and down his neck, and the symbol on his forehead - a stylized sword tucked into a breast pocket, with fancy monogrammed initials on it - PE, for the Pocket Empire!

"...cool, hi," says Token Girl, eyeing the man. She'll have to catch up with WikiBoy on all his weird clones later, but for now, she's pretty sure this is... "wIkimus Maximus, right?"

"Correct!" says wIkimus proudly, idly battling his cape out of the way.

"Or should we call you..." Escape Lass tosses Quadcore to wIkimus and points a dramatic finger. "Our most thrilling enemy!"

wIkimus juggles Quadcore for a moment before getting his arms solidly under the bowl, then looks back at Escape Lass. "Mwa-ha-heh-heh-ho! That's right! Now that I have deposed the foolish Antiochus XXVIII, I am the one true leader of the Pocket Empire!"

"God, and thank you for doing that," says Escape Lass, shaking her head. "Um, and argh you fiend and such."

Token Girl has her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised. "That's a heck of a thing."

"It probably seems strange," says Non-Judgmental Agnostic, smiling. "But on many worlds, the rivalry of support is one of the strongest social bonds there is."

Token Girl nods, and leans away from the dramatically-proclaiming nerds so that her worlds can go straight to the ears of Non-Judgmental Agnostic and Foreshadowing Lad. "So... what happened to CassAIndra?"

Foreshadowing Lad sighs, a heavy weight on his brow. "Multi-Tasking Man thinks he can fix her."

"He'd be the one if anyone was," murmurs Non-Judgmental Agnostic. "They know each other from the inside out, now."

"Fair. I just wanted to thank her... well, hopefully I'll get the chance." Token Girl shakes her head. "And WikiMan?"

"His WikiPowers are lost," says Foreshadowing Lad, "and I don't see a future where he gets them back. He's now a fixed narrative being, based on his last edit."

"I don't think he minds much, tho," says Non-Judgmental Agnostic. "He gets to experience the childhood he never did the first time, with the MicroMACs as his friends."

Token Girl nods thoughtfully, eyes on Escape Lass and wIkimus. "And... mmm." She shakes her head. "I don't know. It feels strange that all the different factions, the Pocket Empire and the Guardiettes and the AniMACs and the MicroMicroMACs and everybody else, are still going to keep fighting each other, even tho..." Her forehead wrinkles, and she looks up at Non-Judgmental Agnostic. "Like, do they really have a reason?"

Non-Judgmental Agnostic turns her eyes up to the skylight over the foyer, watching the clouds swoosh by. She takes a deep breath, and in an 'I am reciting this from memory' voice, says, "Ever since the Trademarkers used their Alterscope to spy on the RoboMAC worlds, the MicroMACs have been fighting battles for the entertainment of others." She smiles at Token Girl. "They can be more than that, now. They already are. But doing huge, dramatic, splashy stuff for an audience - that's part of them."

"Like it's part of the LNH," says Foreshadowing Lad, nodding.

"Heh. I guess so..." Token Girl turns to Escape Lass and wIkimus Maximus and snaps her fingers, giving them the fingerguns. "Okay, I'm gonna head off. Catch you all on the flipside."

"Oh, before you go!" Escape Lass bounds forward and catches her in a hug. Token Girl squirms in obvious embarassment and quiet delight, and hugs her back.

After she's let go, Token Girl waves and heads out of the foyer and down the winding corridors of LNHQ, towards the cafeteria. As she turns a corner, a figure staring off into space collides with her, both of them falling on their butts.

"--oh, sorry!" The other one scrambles to his feet, and Token Girl can see that it's Can-Handle-Any-Type-of-Change-Except-For-the-Ultimate-Ninja-Wearing-a-Cape Lad, three-time winner of the Longest Name in the Legion contest.

"That's okay," she says, helping him up. "But are you all right? You seem, uh, distracted."

He shakes his head, blushing just a bit. "It's just..." He looks over his shoulder, then leans in to murmur. "I'm afraid my powers are malfunctioning."

"Ohhhh?" Token Girl felt a slight tinge of worry. CHAToCEFtUNWaCLad was a relatively new Legionnaire, but had already become one of their dependable stalwarts.

He nods firmly. "I saw Ultimate Ninja walk by the cape closet, and..." He breathes just a bit deeper. "I didn't feel anything."

"...ah." Token Girl's worry becomes a different kind of... melancholy, really. She had been right there when it happened, but...

"Me too!" Puts-Paperclips-on-The-Ultimate-Ninja's-Desk Lad, three-time loser of the Least Useful Power in the Legion contest, popped into the conversation out of nowhere. "I just got a new jar of clips and they've just been sitting in a drawer all week!"

"Oh, man!" says Can-Handle-Any-Type-of-Change-Except-For-the-Ultimate-Ninja-Wearing-a-Cape Lad. "It's weird, isn't it?"

"It's super weird!"

"Mmmm..." Token Girl draws in a breath. "Well, maybe you should go to Doctor Stomper and have him check up on your powers."

"Ooh, yeah, good idea. Thanks, TG!" The two of them head off in the general direction of sickbay, chattering about the weirdness of the day.

Token Girl rubs her upper arm, getting some of that stiff tension out. She was there when it happened, but... she's not supposed to say anything. She's still not really sure that was the right choice, but it's...

Well, it's what Ultimate Ninja wanted, so.

She makes it down to the cafeteria, grabs a slice of one of Betamax's weird culinary experiments (in this case, pizza with black bean sauce and cotija cheese), reflills her canteen from the water filter, and takes ten to relax, sip, eat and process.

Just about ten minutes later: "Hey, mind if I sit here?"

Token Girl is tired enough that her first impulse is to pull out one of her trademark snappy comebacks so she doesn't have to People any more. But she recognizes the voice, and its owner doesn't count as a People, he counts as a Friend; so she looks up and gives a tired but sincere smile. "Yeah, sure!"

And Wikiboy sits down, putting his Szechuan tacos and soda on the table and smiling back, with just a touch of hard-earned confidence. "How've you been?"

"I've been..." Token Girl rolls her mind over a chaotic landscape of emotion... "I've been a lot. How about you?"

"Uh... also a lot, I think." Wikiboy adjusts his hair and straightens up. "Adjusting to how my powers work now, and the new... part of me, I guess you'd call it."

Token Girl nods, the questions that have been on her mind for a while rolling to the front. "Yeah, uh, did you absorb, like... the whole Apathy Beast, or...?"

"It felt like it at the time, but now it just feels like..." WikiBoy puts his hand over his chest, and takes a deep breath, stilling. "...like an extra bit of... weight? Calmness? Metaphysical machinery?" He shrugs! "Something like."

"Right. But you can still be edited?"

"Yeah, that still works about the same way. It's just that I can ignore edits if I really want to." He looks out the window. "It's kind of... the power to Not Care."

A little wave of regret sloshes on the shores of Token Girl's brain. "Gotcha. ..can you edit yourself?"

WikiBoy stares out the window, quiet for a long while. "...I don't know. When... when we were all together, all in one body, I could, but... I haven't tried since." He takes another deep breath, straightens up, and turns to her with a smile. "Someday, I guess. But right now, it feels like..." His smile droops just a bit at the edges. "WiKaine messed himself up real bad by editing out everything he couldn't stand."

Token Girl summons up her ultra-secret net.ahuman power, Being Distractingly Light and Humorous. "You mean Axen Kiwi, the No One of WikiBoy, right?"

WikiBoy blinks, then laughs. "Oh, god, yeah. I forgot about all the convoluted video game nonsense for a bit."

She grins. "Kingdom Hearts references are the natural destination of ridiculously convoluted crossover plotting."

"They really are." He shakes himself and runs his hands thru his hair, blushing a bit as he realizes how vulnerable he'd been. "I think he ran off into the Deep Omnilooniverse in the end. I hope he finds something to..."

"...put in that literal heart-shaped hole in his chest?" Seeeecret power!

"Oh, god, that's right. WikiBoy laughs. "Jeez our lives are hilarious sometimes." He shakes his head ruefully. "I didn't really get that, when I was the butt of all the jokes."

Oh no, the secret power backfired and now a huge wave of guilt is swamping Token Girl's brain! "I'm--" She stumbles. "I'm sorry if I ever--"

WikiBoy holds up a hand and looks her in the eyes. "Don't worry about it, please."

"...you sure?"

He picks up his taco and gives a big, performative bite, chewing and swallowing. "I was--" Slurp crunch smack. "I was created to be the butt of all the jokes, the one who just takes abuse because it's not as funny if I get revenge. That's who my Writer needed me to be... a harmless fantasy, something you write to find the happy buttons in the folds of your own brain and push them, and maybe find other people with the same buttons that'll enjoy it. That's who I was, then, and... I'm kinda proud of it?" He takes another bite, and licks his fingers. "Yeah, definitely this weird existential pride."

"I don't really get it," says Token Girl, "buuuuut that's good?"

WikiBoy giggles and lets out a little snort. "Yeah, it is. But then other writers got ahold of me, ones with different buttons, and they decided to take the elements of the fantasy and use them for a different kind of story. Like Jay Edidin embracing Chris Claremont's version of Lee and Kirby's Cyclops - finding the part that appeals to you. That's what collaborative fiction universes are about. And now I'm who I am right now." He pulls out a wet-wipe and cleans off his fingers. "There's plenty of room in there for different interpretations, too. I still get into wacky unfortunate comedic peril." He tosses the wipe on his tray and leans back in his chair. "I dunno. It's weird to think about who I used to be, but... yeah, I'm not sorry I was him."

Token Girl looks at WikiBoy, relaxing, thoughtful, and warmth swells in her chest. "I'm proud of you, man."

"Awh. Well." WikiBoy blushes, straightens up, and grabs the rest of his taco, shoving it in his mouth and mumbling "Thanks." around the food.

Token Girl chuckles. "So, uh... what haven't we... oh, yeah, WikiCide. He decided to become your evil opposite, huh?"

"Yeah~" WikiBoy swallows. "I'm proud of him, too. He's had a longer path than I have, even, but I think he's gonna do a great job."

"Four outta five ain't bad, I think," says Token Girl.

WikiBoy nods, and streeeetches and yaaaaaaaawns. "Mmmmm... I think I'm gonna go take a post-lunch nap."

"Hey, nap buddies~" Token Girl holds up her fist, and WikiBoy bumps it. She stands up and stretches. "See ya when I see ya."

"See ya too, assuming I have eyes at that point." WikiBoy stands up and picks up his tray.

Token Girl turns to go... ponders for a moment. "Hey, WikiBoy?" She snaps her fingers. "You're an SD Deathscythe."

"...yeah, sure~" WikiBoy poofs into an adorably chibi battle robot holding a glowing laser scythe, and toddles off on his chunky robotic feet.

Token Girl makes her way out of the cafeteria and down to her room without any more run-ins. She shuts the door and leans back on it, closing her eyes. Jeez, what a day. And it isn't over yet, but she can kick off her big stompy boots, hang up her button-covered denim jacket, flop into bed, cuddle a body pillow with a badass anime girl on it, and take a nap.

...she dreams of patterns in the sky, lines that aren't lines and gods that are great rotating symbols, and she watches the lines separate until the symbol is gone, and she watches Discord wave as she passes...

Token Girl wakes up 23 minutes after her alarm was supposed to go off. Oh, crap, she's supposed to get the Metatronium Sifter back in-- oh crap oh crap oh crap!!

She pushes her feet into her boots and wiggles her heels into place, grabs her jacket, and charges down the hallway to the transporter room. Parking Karma Kid is there, sitting behind the console and watching a compliation of ridiculous Grand Theft Auto vehicle tricks on his phone.

"Pete!" Token Girl says, leaping onto a transporter.thingy pad.thingee. "Gotta be at a place right exactly now! Address!" She throws a paper airplane at him.

Parking Karma Kid catches it out of the air and unfolds it. "So you're asking me to drop you off, not in some open space at sea level, but inside a mid-city building on the fifth floor?"

Token Girl nods desperately!!

Parking Karma Kid cracks his knuckles. "Thanks! But next time, give me a hard one!" His fingers dance over the console and she's gone~

Token Girl materializes in the hallway outside apartment 507-- whew, only a minute and a half late. She knocks on the door, and a kinda butch lady with short curly hair and devastating cheekbones opens it - "Terrible" Maddie Turnip. Token Girl holds out her hand, Maddie grabs it with a little grin, and they go up, down, left, right, wiggle your pinkies - the old Radikool Kidz Klub secret handshake. Then Maddie pulls her forward unexpectedly into a brief but strong hug that makes Token Girl gasp - not unpleasantly - as the air is squeezed out of her.

Behind Maddie, on the couch, are two people. One is a tall, dark-haired woman with a sort of 40's pinup girl look and an infectuous smile - Forgotten Gal. The other is a scrawny young man of Polish descent, with long blue hair and wearing a lemon-yellow T-shirt and blue jeans - Skrajny the Multinaut.

"C'mon, c'mon, I got a cherry crumble in the oven." Maddie leads Token Girl in and sits her down in a big plush recliner, a plate of dessert pressed into her hands.

"Okay, okay," laughs Token Girl. "But just one slice for me, please, I've got a dinner date." She takes the proffered fork and nibbles - delicious. "Lessee, uh..." She reaches into her satchel and pulls out a weird, septagonal device. "Here ya go, Skrajny."

"Please, call me Kacper." He says 'Casper' but Token Girl's gone thru enough baby naming sites to know how it's spelled. Kacper takes the Metatronium Sifter. "Tho I don't know what I'm gonna do with it."

"We'll figure it out," says Forgotten Gal, squeezing Skrajny's hand and giving him a reassuring smile. Token Girl notices that she's still wearing the Nostalgic Brace she'd gotten... somewhere along the line, Token Girl wasn't really sure. But it counterbalanced her forgettability, for people who had an emotional investment in her - which everyone in the room definitely did.

Token Girl decides to jump directly to the elephant in the room. "You're definitely not going home, then?"

Kacper sucks in a breath, lets it blow out loose lips. "...I want to go back. I want to help my people, the ones who are still trapped in that messed-up imperialist view of the multiverse." He puts his hands out in front of him and shakes his head. "But the Ordered Realities bureaucracy would hunt me down as a deserter even if I wasn't keeping the Idoloid technology. It's much safer, for now, for me to stay in an unregistered world where their influence is strictly indirect."

Maddie nods. "'Sides, this way, we can keep each other safe."

"Hell yeah!" Forgotten Girl pumps her fist. "Heroes together!"

"Woo!" says Kacper, giving a thumbs-up.

Token Girl grins and finishes off her bit of cherry crumble. "I'm glad to have someone like you on the force, Maddie."

"Heh, well." Maddie puts down her beer and gives Token Girl a tired but sincere smile. "Thanks, but I ain't on the force anymore."

"...oh. Uh." Social snafu? Had something happened?? "Sorry???"

"Nah, it's okay." Maddie sits back, arms crossed. "You're right, I was a good cop. But I was mostly good at not being like a cop's supposed to be. And after we found out..." She shakes her head. "Some of Shadez Radikal's people were... acquaintances, maybe even kind of friends. People I thought I could count on - people who'd given me orders. And I thought about those orders..." She shrugs. "I'm done with necessary evils. Or as done as you can be, in this world."

Token Girl let out a breath. "Yeah, that's fair. And like, who even knows what the laws are gonna be like with that new President."

"Oh lord, that guy," says Maddie, shaking her head and tilting her beer back, pouring the rest of it down her throat, then letting out a satisfying belch.

"Coulda been worse, tho," says Forgotten Gal, punching Maddie lightly in the shoulder.

"Yeah," says Token Girl, shaking her head too. "Anyway, what are you gonna do now?"

"You wanna take this one?" Maddie says to Forgotten Gal, who smiles and leans forward.

"We're gonna try and make something new. A place for Weird People."

"While everything was going down, we ended up getting to know some of your Shadow People," says Kacper.

"And we had ideas, and they had ideas..." says Maggie. "And a lotta those ideas were compatible."

"It's gonna be a place where weirdos like us can just, like, live, and support each other," says Forgotten Gal, eyes sparkling with possibility. "Without having to worry about cops, or CEOs, or weird people in frog masks, or any of that."

"Sounds great," says Token Girl. "But..." She rubs her chin thoughtfully. "Isn't that basically the LNH?"

Maggie lets out a little bark of a laugh. "Kid, you got a flippin' ninja death machine for a leader. It ain't an egalitarian society yet, that's for sure."

"...yeah, you know, fair, reasonable."

"Besides," interjects Forgotten Gal enthusiastically, "we can have more than one!"

"We gotta have more than one," says Maddie. "As many as we can get, I think."

Token Girl mmmmmms. "Good point..."

"It's like the Powernauts taught me," says Kacper. "You gotta spread the power around."

Token Girl giggles. "Right, and--" She's interrupted by her phone, which belts out a rousing chorus of 'Yappapa'. "Aw shoot!" She bounces to her feet! "Gotta get going to dinner!"

"Hugs first!" Forgotten Gal leaps up and hugs her, and Token Girl puts up only minimal protest. Maggie pushes herself to her feet and wraps her arms around the both of them with even less protest, and after a hesitant moment, Kacper joins in. Token Girl feels embarassingly warm and snuggly and appreciated, and only lets it go on for so long before she squirms out and away.

"See ya!" Everybody waves as she heads out the door.

This time, she walks to her destination; it's only a few blocks down the street, and exercise is always a useful prelude to the kind of food you get at the Pizza Pit.

At the door, she checks her phone; 7:57 PM. Awesome, just a couple minutes early. She slides inside and finds a place to lean up against the wall, looking up at the stage. She wouldn't want to miss this - the very last performance of the Cool Name Band.

Merissa is absolutely shredding on the bass, and Kid Occultism Kid is leading on guitar. Keeping up the beat is, of course, Deathspork: The Terminator on drums, with accompaniment by Amnesiac Brad Pitt on saxophone. And belting out the vocals at the top of her lungs is the one and only top of the pops, Rock'n'Roll Lass!

The crowd looks up from their pizzas, at the stage usually reserved for animatronic animals and karaoke performances of Baby Shark, enraptured by the sudden sense of something special happening; a magical alchemy that will disappear after tonight, and somehow, that feels okay; somehow, that feels right.

Token Girl leans back and lets the sound wash over her; the secret chord that pleased Discord. She hadn't been able to appreciate it properly before, either during the Secret War of the Bands or during the moment they had played to the universe itself. Now... her eyes lid, and her breath slows, and something opens up in her chest, and she lets it flow thru her...

When the music ends, she opens her eyes, stands up, and streeeetches. It feels like she's taken another nap, but she's absolutely brimming with energy...

"Thank you, Net.ropolis!" shouts Rock'n'Roll Lass. "Never forget where the rock came from! Good night!" The curtains swish closed, and Token Girl slips around the side and heads backstage.

The five of them are in the dressing room, taking off their stage makeup and chatting, letting themselves wind down too. Token Girl knock-knocked and leaned in. "Hey! Got a minute for your biggest fan?"

All five look up and all five smile, tho Deathspork's expression is annoyed at his own happiness. Rock'n'Roll Lass crosses the room, grabs Token Girl's hand, and pulls her up close in a sororal fist-clasp. "Glad you could make it, babe."

Token Girl feels that warmth rise to her cheeks again. "Wouldn't miss seeing y'all off!"

"Indeed, you are just in time!" Deathspork rises, having strapped his drums to a wheely cart, and gestures grandly. "For our alliance has been fruitful-- but now it must end! You have earned my respect, but the next time we meet, it will be-- as enemies!!"

Merissa rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. "Dude. PLEASE get over yourself and you might stop sucking."

"Verily," speaks Kid Occultism Kid, "you have far greater potential than you allow yourself to know. Especially on the drums."

"Bah!" Deathspork opens the stage door and sweeps dramatically out of the Pizza Pit. Tries to sweep dramatically out of the Pizza Pit. Trips on the steps and falls out of the Pizza Pit.

Screaming.

"...right," says Token Girl. "How about you, babe?"

Rock'n'Roll Lass laughs. "Yeah, I'm headed off too. Got to get back to the '60s and make sure all the 'classic rock' isn't being produced by white boys." She shakes her head. "'Classic'. Man, what a trip."

"Hang it loose!" says Amnesiac Brad Pitt, throwing up the horns.

Rock'n'Roll Lass raises her eyebrows and chuckles. "Yeah, you do you! G'night, folks!" She steps carefully over Deathspork, and disappears into the night.

"I have taken the liberty of ordering our repast for the evening!" Kid Occultism Kid thrusts out a hand, and the wood warps within the dressing room wall, turning into a mystic swirly portal! "Shall we?"

Merissa rolls her eyes. "You really didn't need to be that extra." She walks up to the door... and blasts it into tiny pieces with her Ultra-Mega-BIGGUN! "Not when you could be that extra!" >:D

"oh my god you nerds." Token Girl stepped thru the pieces of broken door, pulling Amnesiac Brad Pitt along with her. Kid Occultism Kid waves their hands, and a giant arrow appears, guiding them to their table. A waitress drops off their pizza and gets Merissa's signature, and they dive in.

"So," says Token Girl, dipping one of their gloriously greasy breadsticks into marinara, "how are you holding up, Brad?"

"Ah..." Amnesiac Brad Pitt shakes his head. "I don't think I'm going to call myself that anymore." He gets up and stands behind his chair, putting one hand on the faded First Trenchcoat draped over it. "After the other Brad Pitts formed the Idolon of Millions and sacrificed themselves, the idea of holding up that name, that legacy... that's not what I am."

Kid Occultism Kid swallows and says, "And what, then, would you be?"

"I'm just a memory of what came before." The former Amnesiac Brad Pitt puts on the First Trenchcoat and turns towards the door, but stops for a moment, looks back. "I'm just... a Memento."

"...uh," says Merissa, "you weren't in that movie."

He freezes. "Wait, really?"

"Are you thinking of Guy Pearce, maybe?" says Kid Occultism Kid.

"Well shit." The still-nameless Idolon turns around and sit back down at the table. "So... how about that election?"

The tension breaks and the table turns into a caophony of nods, sighs, mumbles and eyerolls.

"Like jeez that new President," says Merissa, shaking her head. "I mean, I was too busy to run, but..."

"Yeah," says Token Girl, "but... it could definitely have been worse."

Merissa pauses, remembering, and nods firmly. "Yeah, it really could..."

"And for now," says Kid Occultism Kid, "we shall look forward, to the future. To what we can do to keep this from happening again - to make things truly better."

"Hear, hear," says Mr. What's-His-Name.

Between them, the foursome quickly finish off the pizza, the breadsticks, and the side order of wings. Token Girl lets out a satisfied belch, and Merissa gives her a high-five. "Okay," she says, "I'm gonna head back to LNHQ, how 'bout y'all?"

"I'll totes come with," says Merissa, picking up her bass.

"I shall stay here and help our friend consult on a new moniker," says Kid Occultism Kid.

"yeah thanks," says you-know-who.

The two of them head out the door, into the cool autumn night, gibbous moon waning overhead. As they walk, Token Girl feels Merissa's demeanor change, from the chill relaxed lady she likes to project to the insecure teenager-esque being she actually is (in Token Girl's estimation). Something wants to come out, but it can't be forced, so she waits...

They're almost there when Merissa turns to her and bursts out with a "So hey..."

"Yeah?" says Token Girl, like she hadn't been waiting.

"It's just..." Merissa fidgets, and her face wrinkles up in the frustration of being kuudere, trying to hold back her feelings to maintain her persona of Cool. Thankfully, she isn't very good at it, and the words come spilling out. "Do you really think we can make stuff better? Like, the world almost went totally to shit! It's fucked up in so many different ways! I don't think..." Her voice softens, and she turns her gaze away. "I don't think anybody, no matter how cool and powerful they are, can deal with it by themselves."

Shit. Token Girl does not consider herself anything like 'good at this stuff'. Fearless Leader or Catalyst Lass would be much better at the encouraging speeches, and Special Bonding Boy or Fairy Princess Lad would be much much better at the talking about feelings. But, well, she was there and now she's here, so she takes a deep breath and...

"...yeah, I think you're right. Like... during all the shit that happened, all of the crazy and cosmic and depressing and amazing stuff-- I couldn't have done any of it by myself. Which..." Okay, here goes. "Which is why we all had to do that together. So many of us had to take it on from so many different angles, your band, the Powernauts, Captain LNH and Cheesecake-Eater Lad, the MicroMACs, Maddie and Forgotten Gal, Escape Lass and WikiMan, all the WikiBoys, all of us... We had to come from different places, different backgrounds, different powersets and different stations in life, because we were all needed, we all helped in different ways."

Merissa's eyes are wide and-- oh, dear, yes, they're sparkling. Well, at least it's working - better wrap up while she's ahead.

"So like... yeah, I do think we can stuff better, but only if we keep doing that. If we all value each other's efforts, and don't stop supporting each other - the front line fighters, the healers and comforters, the big public speakers, the logistics nerds, the hyperspecialists..." Token Girl chuckles. "And the token weirdos like me, who just happened to be in the right time and place to kinda, give a little push in a helpful direction."

"...hey!" says Merissa, snorting. "Don't be so down on yourself, grandma. You did a lot of the work too." She shrugs~ "Not as much as me, of course~"

Token Girl laughs. Oh thank fuck it worked. "Grandma, eh? Well, sonny, er, little lady... no, that sounds dumb, I don't know how grandmas talk."

Merissa lets out a gigglesnort. "Okay, okay, so stop talking. See you in the morning, I'm gonna do something cooler than hanging out with you~" She runs down the sidewalk to the back door of the LNHQ, swings it open, and yells, "Also you're rad and thanks!" before disappearing.

Token Girl chuckles, running her hands thru her hair as she saunters thru the back door. Whew. It's been a day of far too many emotions... time to vegetate.

She finds her way to the TV room, the hallways gently guiding her as always. Forsaken Lass and Net.Access are on one of the overstuffed couches, making out and oblivious to the world around them, so she flops down on the other one, next to Fuzzy. "What's on the boob tube?"

"Well, I don't watch the news a lot," says Fuzzy, flipping from channel to channel like it's 1992 or something. "But I figured this was important." She stops on an image of a podium with American flags around it. Vaguely stirring, vaguely patriotic music was playing.

"...welp," says Token Girl, running her hands thru her hair. "Let's do this."

The vague music quiets, and a warm and enthusiastic announcer comes on, completely unfazed by what he's about to say. "Ladies and gentlemen, in his first address to the nation, please welcome the new President-Elect of the Loonited Sates of Ame.rec.a..."

A person walks up to the podium. A person both of them recognize. A person both of them have fought with. And before last week, the last person either of them would have expected to see up there...

"...Bad Judgment Boy!"

The Icon of Ill-Considered Ideas strolls saucily up to the podium. He's wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Che Guevara on it and tight shorts that say "JUICY" on the bottom. He grabs the microphone (causing a screech of feedback) and addresses the nation.

"Hey guys! Wait, there's a teleprompter. My... fellow... Africans..."

An aide runs up to Bad Judgment Boy and whispers urgently in his ear, but he waves them off.

"Look, look, I know you wanted me to talk about the economy or whatever, but let's focus on what's really important: Me! See, I'll be great for the Ame.rec.an people. Most politicians are big in debt to shady figures in industry. But all the shady figures *I*'m in debt to disappeared last week, so it's fine!"

Token Girl watches, open-mouthed, for as long as she can stand. Then she grabs the remote, clicks off the TV, and falls back on the couch. She looks up at Fuzzy. "...well, it coulda been worse, right?"

Fuzzy chuckles. "It really could have. But..." She scratches her head. "I still don't understand how the heck he won!"

Token Girl sits up and shakes her head. "I should head to bed." She stands up, streeeetching out. "But I'll tell you what I can tomorrow." She walks to the door, but turns when she gets there. "And we can start at the end." She gives Fuzzy a wink, then ambles away.

Fuzzy shakes her head. "Good night." She turns to the camera. "And sleep well, when you do."

----

Author's Notes: So, the thing is...

I had SO MANY PLANS for WikiLull. And they grew, and they grew, and they just kept growing. And I realized - what I really wanted WikiLull to be was a catharsis to all the pain and awfulness of the 2016 election, all of its causes and all of its effects. And that's just too big for one story to be.

So instead, I decided to tie off the loose ends, and take a lot of the places Jeanne and I had wanted characters to go and just move them there, and leave the Looniverse with a good status quo. And get it done before the 2020 election, eheheh... just under the wire.

The Deep Omnilooniverse is, of course, a parody of DC's Dark Multiverse. Jeanne and I were originally going to call it the "Dark Omnilooniverse", but using "dark" like that is overdone and carries Weird Racial Overtones, and the play on the idea of the "deep web" was really compelling. All of the Deep Omnilooniverse worlds mentioned in this issue are named after demons from the Ars Goetia, because we're fancy like that. It's not very well-defined here, so feel free to go wild!

#Fiction #Original Fiction #Superheroes #Silliness #Drama #Adventure #Legion of Net.Heroes #Classic LNH #WikiLull

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missneko-otaku · 5 years

Text

Sakakibara Yasumasa

A Faint Affection (MC x Yasumasa)

-Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/ Chapter 4/ Chapter 5/ Chapter 6-7/

(Writer’s notes: Omy gosh..finally, after so, so long...! I am posting the continuation of my Yasumasa fic again. It is not dead yet! My Yasumasa fic is still alive and kicking~ XD Whew~ (・ε・`*) … I had been writing and trying to finish these two chapters for almost a week now. (And if it wasn’t for the latest Tenka Yasumasa event I read from Agas-chan, I wouldn’t feel more inspired and try to reaally give time for my fic again. So busy with life that I had a hard time squeezing some time for writing this fic. But finally! I managed now to squeeze my time and finish these two chapters! Yehey! Waah I feel so tired ＿ﾉ乙(､ﾝ､)＿

I even had to reread the whole fic from chapter 1-5 just to make sure I am not forgetting or missing something XD

As always, please bear with my English and writing skills~ (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑) I am no pro, just average XD ~ And hopefully,ｖ(⌒ｏ⌒)ｖI hope you have fun and enjoy reading this fic as much as I do!)

Chapter 6-7

Running in the middle of the night,

Tomorrow morning with a cold.

And an evening full of sadness.

“Did something good happened?” inquire Umeko, her face observing me so carefully.

It is early morning, we have been tasked to prepare food early for some reason. The sky hasn’t lighted up yet but you can hear the roosters outside crowing already. A sign that morning sun is approaching. A brand new day for all of us.

“Haah!??” startled by her sudden question, I almost drop the knife I am holding. “Whhha--, why do you think so?” I reply.

“Well, you seem.. “ she pauses, giggling she continues and says, “you seem like someone who is in love.”

“A whaaat!!?” I find my tone suddenly rising.

“Who is the lucky girl? Ayeee, Yahiko!” squeaks Umeko while elbowing me in my side. “I didn’t know you have one!” exclaimed Umeko again.

“What are you even saying? I don’t know what you are talking about to be honest.”

“Tsk. You can’t fool me young man, I can see it and feel it. Something is different with you these days.” says Umeko as she continues peeling the potatoes beside me.

“I think you are just imagining things.” I reply as I hold the knife and the potato I am peeling more firmly.

“Imagining things? Maybe you are the one who is imagining something there! Tell that to your giggling face!” she says pointing the small knife to me. “Do you even take a look at yourself? You are giggling by yourself since we started peeling these potatoes.”

“Am I?? Reaally?” I say, caught off guard.

“Yeah! You keep on smiling and smiling while peeling these potatoes! I wonder why? Hmmm???” teases Umeko while she pinches my cheeks with both of her hands.

Do I look like that? Was I really am smiling?

I ask myself countless times inside my head.

***

Breakfast was served earlier than usual. After having breakfast, lord Ieyasu and lord Sakai with some of the retainers departed to Owari to visit lord Nobunaga leaving the castle for a few days to the trusted trio: lord Tadakatsu, lord Yasumasa and Toramatsu. The three are left in charge of the affairs in the castle.

So here I am, as usual, outside the veranda just finished everything that needed to be done. I am glad that I am able to do and finished every chore fast. Now finally, I can relax a bit. I look at the swaying sheets of my laundry that are hanging so perfectly out in the sunshine. I feel proud for the good work I have done. As I take in the breeze around me, my mind floats back to what Umeko was saying.

You seem like someone who is in love..

Whhhhaaaa! No no no! Haha, what the hell? Hahaha Umeko is so jumping into conclusions! Me? In love? To whom?? I was just smiling. I was smiling because of what happened a few days ago. Nothing more. I was just happy that lord Yasumasa even tagged along in getting the two children back home safely despite his nonstop complaints. And I was maybe, yes, giggling because lord Yasumasa doesn’t have the slightest clue that those are the very same children that secretly gave him pressed flowers before. I was just happy because everything feels like fate and such. Yeah, that’s it.

I clapped my hands together making a loud sound in the air.

Umeko is really jumping to conclusions. I hope she wouldn’t spread any rumours to our fellow maids.

“Anyway! Why am I thinking so hard about this? The weather is so nice today! Perhaps I should go out and buy some new ingredients for our dessert.” I tell myself with glee.

***

“Hey is that Yahiko? Toramatsu?” says Tadakatsu as he points Yahiko who just went outside the castle gates with basket in one hand.

“Yes, why?” says Toramatsu

Lord Tadakatsu together with Toramatsu and of course lord Yasumasa is currently walking outside in the castle garden. You can visibly see the sweat forming on their clothes and faces as they leisurely walk in the open garden. They have finished practicing their swordsmanship with their retainers a couple of minutes ago.

“Nothing really, haha. But, I can’t help but notice that he is really a hardworking lad. You must be so lucky to have him Yasumasa?” says Tadakatsu as he laughs.

“I think I have to agree with you lord Tadakatsu about that,” says Toramatsu, “Yahiko is a very hardworking person but I am afraid he might over push himself.” concern present on his voice.

Meanwhile, Yasumasa who is standing beside them nods in agreement for the first time with Toramatsu and says, “True, he is very useful I have to say. Way more useful and responsible than any other servants out there that worked under me.”

“Oooh..is that a compliment to Yahiko? Haha” teases lord Tadakatsu.

“Take it whatever you want, Tadakatsu.” says Yasumasa disinterested as he wipes his sweaty face with his kimono sleeves.

“But, I do really hope he doesn’t overwork himself too much. He handles almost all the chores in the castle. I think it won't bring any good to his health later on, if he keeps on abusing his body, doing everything by himself.” says Toramatsu in a whisper as the three of them walk.

As Toramatsu says this, Yasumasa looks back behind him. He looks at the castle gate with something on his mind.

***

As soon as I got back from my mini shopping, I start helping out in the kitchen. It is almost lunchtime, so the old kitchen ladies are all busy preparing the meals of the retainers. I help with ladling the hot soup, filling their porcelain bowls to the brim, then putting them in the trays that are lined up in front of me. After everything is prepared, we start to distribute the trays on the main hall so that the hungry retainers can eat their meal while it is still hot.

I go and serve Toramatsu, lord Tadakatsu and lord Yasumasa their meals as usual.

“Thanks for the meal, Yahiko” says lord Tadakatsu beaming with a smile.

“Why don’t you eat with us too, you must be pretty starving by now” says Toramatsu, smiling at me with some gentleness in his eyes.

Meanwhile, lord Yasumasa on the other hand is just listening to us three while he eats his food.

Feeling shy to eat with them so suddenly, I reject the kind offer. “I umm.. I am not yet hungry so don’t worry milord” I say when suddenly as I am about to stand up from my kneeling spot, my stomach rumbles without any warning.

“!!”

“I think your stomach says otherwise.” says nonchalantly by lord Yasumasa who is now drinking the hot steaming soup from his porcelain bowl.

Lord Tadakatsu laughs at me. I can’t help but blush so hard in front of them. My face turns slightly red like a ripened tomato. Toramatsu on the other hand, tries to stifle his laughter and end up just giggling quietly.

“Just eat with us, Yahiko.”

“Yeah, eat with us..!”

Invites Toramatsu and lord Tadakatsu again to me.

“Umm..haha, no, I am okay. And I still have some things to do. Well then, excuse me my lords!” I bow and walk quickly from the main hall not even looking back because of the embarrassment. Gosh, why of all time!!??? Why!!? I want to crawl into some hole and never go out. This is so embarrassing!

“Yahiko is cute, don’t you think Yasumasa?” says lord Tadakatsu innocently without any deep meaning at all.

“What’s so cute about a person who lets himself starve or lets his stomach rumble in front of everybody.” says coldly and unimpressed by lord Yasumasa.

“Ohh come on! Yahiko is cute! Isn’t he Toramatsu? You agree with me right?” lord Tadakatsu says again in a gleefully manner, pointing his chopsticks to Toramatsu.

“Instead saying that and giving him a cold shoulder, you should have asked him to eat with us. He was probably shy in front of you to say yes to us. He must be worried that you might not like the idea with him eating with us or maybe with you.” says Toramatsu in a faint stern tone towards lord Yasumasa.

“What!? So are you saying that it’s my fault now?” irritated, lord Yasumasa unconsciously slams his chopsticks on his tray. “Is it my fault that he was shy, that he couldn’t eat with us and rejected your offer? Why do you have to blame me for it, as if it is my responsible or something..”

“Just saying. You should have been more thoughtful.” Toramatsu replies without looking back, continuing eating his hot meal in a calm manner.

“Tsk.” lord Yasumasa snaps, now feeling a little bit guilty towards Yahiko who seems tired and really hungry just by the sound of his rumbling stomach earlier.

“Umm, hello? does anyone agree with what I am saying? Isn’t Yahiko cute??” beaming and smiling and waving like a fool, lord Tadakatsu asks them again.

“Oh! Just shut up for goodness sake, Tadakatsu!” yells lord Yasumasa, his brows furrowing into a deep arch clearly irritated by what Toramatsu said to him. “Just shut up..!” he says again to lord Tadakatsu who is oblivious of what is happening to his surroundings.

***

Late afternoon, alone in the kitchen.

It has been a tiring day somehow for all of us. After lunch, the retainers was tasked by Toramatsu to clean up their rooms, then their belongings. Lord Tadakatsu and lord Yasumasa on the other hand, tasked the other retainers to polish their swords and their armors and other weaponries they have inside the storage. When they all finished their tasks, us servants made them some refreshments and desserts. Now that everyone is just relaxing on their own, here I am in the kitchen--my favorite place-- doing some wiping. My peaceful moment is suddenly been shattered by some loud voice coming from outside.

“Hey, Yahiko! Is it true!? Is it true!??”

Umeko suddenly comes running to me shouting in the kitchen like she heard some kind of big news from outside, almost knocking all the clean pots on the table that I have been wiping so far.

“Umeko, would you just calm down.” I say as I stack the wiped and cleaned pots in order again on the table. “Why are you shouting? Did something happen in town?” I ask, inquisitively.

“You wouldn’t believe what I just heard!” she catches her breath, then for a moment starts talking again “they say lord Yasumasa struck an innocent civilian!”

‘What!? When?!” I almost yelled at her, so shocked at what I just heard from her mouth. Lord Yasumasa, struck a civilian? is this even true?

“Well, they say, he beat up an old man in the streets a few days ago. All the old man did was he was trying to teach this certain samurai lord to be respectful towards elders. But it didn’t end well. He got beaten up badly by that young man. And it turns out that the man they are referring to is lord Yasumasa. Many say that they saw the horrible scene too. It is the talk of the town!” says Umeko.

No way..How did the story turned up into something like that? Don’t tell me that it is the drunkard we met before. That man is saying such a big nasty lie to the townspeople. He is trying to make lord Yasumasa look bad!

“Where did you hear that? That is nonsense! Don’t believe such a big lie.” I snap at Umeko.

“Why are you getting a bit mad at me, Yahiko? I just heard it. And the old man himself was the one who was telling it all out there. He and some men also says that lord Yasumasa doesn’t deserve his title and such...that he is taking advantage of his position just because he is a samurai lord..”

I can’t believe this, why? Why say such bad things? There’s a faint pang lingering inside me that I can’t fully explain. I feel sad for lord Yasumasa who doesn’t seem to know anything. He did something good only to turned out bad like this? And at the same time, I feel very angry too, to the persons who spreads such bad lies about him. Even though lord Yasumasa can be a jerk, still saying such lies is still wrong. It is not right at all.

“Yahiko??”

“I’m sorry Umeko for snapping like that at you. But don’t believe them. That man is lying. I think he was the drunkard we met back then and he was trying to hurt some kids, lord Yasumasa just taught him a lesson. I was there. So believe me. I know lord Yasumasa can be snappy at all times, but after working under him, I can tell that he is a good man. He will not do something so bad like that.” I say to Umeko. Umeko, on the other hand is listening to me quietly and eagerly. “Is that so? I believe you then! I’m sorry too, I just got carried away because people were talking about it so I was just so shocked that I came running straight to you here right away just to confirm it. Don’t worry, if ever I heard someone here in this castle talking about it, I will say that it isn’t true.”

“Thanks, Umeko.” I smile at her, feeling happy about her sincerity and that the misunderstanding has been cleared up.

***

Just outside, the two servants don’t know that somebody has been quietly listening to their conversation. It is lord Yasumasa, standing just outside near the kitchen door. He didn’t mean to listen or eavesdrop. He was supposed to ask Yahiko something, maybe ask him to do some errands for him and maybe will tell him that he can have the day after his task. He stands there, looking at the two quietly. Or more so, looking at Yahiko with such bafflement. Eyes with a faint doubtful expression. His brows in deep furrows, as if he is trying to understand something in his head but he can’t. He observes Yahiko from afar and murmurs to himself, “I really don’t get...this guy..”

***

The setting sun paints the afternoon sky with splotches and smears of crimson and orange colors. Evening is approaching slowly as the sun says goodbye to the day again. After finishing everything I have to do in the kitchen, I make my way to lord Yasumasa’s quarters. Walking in the corridor with a tray of tea and manju on my hands, I can’t help but recollect inside my head what happened earlier regarding the false rumours about lord Yasumasa. I feel angry for lord Yasumasa. I wish I was the one who was out in town so that I could correct those bad people and tell the townspeople that those are nothing but lies. That they shouldn’t believe a word that that old man and his men was spreading about.

But no matter how much I wanted to do something, all I can do now is just sigh and hope that these will stop soon.

I see from afar lord Yasumasa’s quarters already lit up inside. Usually he is late going to his quarters but now he seems early. He must be so exhausted if that is so. Lord Yasumasa probably returned early to rest. Poor lord Yasumasa, he must have had no clue about what’s going around in town.

Should I inform him? Or not? But..ughh what to do. What should I do… I ponder as I get nearer to his quarters.

“Lord Yasumasa, I brought you some tea and dessert.” I announce myself.

“Bring it inside.” he says flatly.

I come inside and place the hot tea and his plate of newly made manju on his table. He has been sorting some paper scrolls again.

After serving his tea and manju I sit near the sliding door waiting, waiting for the perfect time to tell lord Yasumasa about it. At the end, I think he should know about this. But, soon as I try to open my mouth, I can’t say nor find the right words right away. I pause, and then ponder. Ponder but then when I try to speak, I find it hard. At last, after what seemed like an eternity, I take a deep breath, then I call him in a low tone that is enough to be heard.

“Lord Yasumasa, no matter how many times I think about it, I think you should know.”

“And what is that? Be sure that what you are about to tell me is really important or else don’t bother at all.” He says, his right hand stops from whatever it is doing. Finally he looks at me, as if he is ready to listen to what I am about to say.

I gather my courage, and opened my mouth.

“Somebody out there is putting such bad rumours about you, milord. I think it should be stopped or else the whole town will probably think that it is true.” I say with sincere concern for him.

“And?”

It was an unexpected dull reply. It caught me off guard.

“And?? I-- I think we should do something about it milord.”

“Why? Just like you said it is just a bunch of crap. Lies. Why bother?” he replies without a care in the world.

“But-- milord... don’t you feel..wronged here? Don’t you feel angry or something, because I feel angry.” I say somehow bluntly, my hands unconsciously gripping my hakama while sitting there in his room.

He observes me like he doesn’t understand me. Like he doesn’t understand what I am trying to say to him or where I am coming from. There’s this bewilderment expression showing on his face. His brows forming into an arch, like he is trying to figure out me on his head.

Finally, he speaks, breaking the brief silence that surrounded the room.

“I don’t understand you at all.” he says.

“Huh?? What do you mean milord?” I say in response to him, totally confused.

Then his expression changed into his usual annoyed expression, that expression that I see from him from time to time, whenever he thinks I am being stupid or being an airhead again.

“What I mean, fool, is that why would you feel bothered by it? Why would you even feel angry? It’s not about you. So why get so worked up about something that you don’t have business with?” he says sounding irritated like as if I am making a real big deal out of it--which I don’t understand.

“But milord--”

“Ohh, stop.” he interjects, “Can’t you even, for once properly use your head? Why don’t you put all your energy into something more productive? Instead of complaining to me about this crap that is not worthy of my time or your time, if I were you, I would just use it to something more productive. Know what? I don’t need you and your negativity here. Go take a bath or something. Don’t get into my nerves while I ask you nicely.” he says, his hands shooing me away like I am being a pest to him right now.

Seeing that the conversation is really over, I just give up. And make my way outside of his room.

***

“Ugggghhhhh..!! I DON’T GET HIM AT ALL!” I say aloud, my voice echoing in the whole room. I punch the water around me, making a huge splash of a mess. Here I am inside the public bathroom of the castle taking a nice warm soak in this wooden bathtub. As usual, I made sure that everyone had their bath before going here. It is hard living in disguise, you have to be cautious especially when it comes to taking a bath and changing my clothes. But it sure feels sometimes nice to have the whole room for me to use. It is quiet and no one would bother me. And I can let out all these hard feelings and frustrations I have in me.

“He is the one that I don’t understand. He always gets mad, complains a lot even by the slightest, small irrelevant things but he won’t even feel upset about somebody out there badmouthing him. What!? Mind my own business?? And here I am, worried for him. Worried that he might feel-- l.. Ughhhhh..!” I submerge my head in the warm, steaming water and letting all the frustrations and anger within me melt away.

I really don’t get how lord Yasumasa and his mind works at all. As I try to recall everything that happened, it felt like for him I was overreacting over something stupid. That I was stupid for reacting like that. The way he responded as if I am some kind of a pest, ughhh..I don’t get him at all. Use my head properly? Really? Ughh, I hate him. Here I was feeling sad for him. Oh, MC, why would you even feel concerned for that jerk? Really? Hah..!

When I couldn’t hold my breath any longer under the water, I hurriedly come to the surface gasping for air.

“Ha, hahh, hahh…*coughs” I let my head rest on the wooden wall, closing my eyes, thoughts wandering about the incident again.

To think they figure out lord Yasumasa’s name, or whoever they are, or I mean that old man must have done his research about it. He must have been so angry about how he was beaten up in public that he couldn’t let go of it unless he gets even to him. To think that there are people who would go to such lengths just because they feel wronged...it is scary.

Mulling over while my eyes are still closed and my head still resting on the wall, I hear the sliding wooden door of the public bathroom suddenly being opened. I open my eyes hurriedly and submerged my whole body in the bathtub. I quietly scan the area, and see someone really comes in. My body freezes, anxiousness creeping in. Thankfully, the area is dark and steamy so whoever it is still haven’t noticed me yet. The man removes his hakama, then his whole kimono robe, the fabric smoothly slipping down from the slender yet taut, muscled-body then falling to the floor. Without a sound, he walks in my direction. Even though I don’t look like it, I am panicking in my head.

Ohh god, what should I do? He is coming nearer and nearer here. No, no...MC just relax, just think. *getting nervous and lightheaded because of too much steam* Think!? What am I supposed to think? Besides there is a man naked in front of me! And he is walking now in my direction, so how am I supposed to think..! And haha *sarcastic laugh* I am fully naked too for heaven’s sake..!

I am starting to feel dizzy, and the only thing, the only possible solution that my mind comes up with is to just hurriedly run away from this place. No matter how hard I try to think, that is the only way I would be able to escape from this scenario. So I ready myself. I don’t care anymore if I see him naked or he sees me naked, as long as he won’t be able to see my face and discover my identity, I have no choice but to just run without clothes.

As he gets nearer, I grab the nearest small wooden pail I see without making a sound. The man is about to enter the bathtub, the moment I see his left foot has submerged in the water, I hurriedly stand up smack the man as hard as I can with the small wooden pail.

”Ughhhh!! What the!???”

I hear the man groaning in pain, hear him falling into the bathtub with a loud painful thud.

I’m sorry...really, really sorry..! I cry inside my head to the man who seems like in deep pain because of how he fell and got his head hit.

And like a mad person, I hurriedly jump off the bathtub, grabbing my clothes right away and flee from the crime scene.

***

“Ouch..What in the seven hells!! Who was that stupid fool..!?!? Uhhhggh..! My butt and my head..ouch..I will kill whoever that is..! That fool!” groan in pain by lord Yasumasa. Even though the place is dark, you can still see with the moonlight’s help the reddening back of lord Yasumasa. His head hurts like crazy because of the wooden pail that was smacked on him, while half of his body is in pain because of how hard the impact it got from falling hard on the wooden tub. If you are wondering why he is there at that time, well it was just an unfortunate coincidence. He was so exhausted that he was a bit late in taking his usual bath. Unfortunately, that is the usual time MC takes her bath..so..you know now.

“What a crazy guy.! I will surely kill that person! Just you wait..! Ouuucchh.. Aww, damn..my body hurts like hell..” curses lord Yasumasa in the air, alone in the dark.

***

I am panting so hard, like a person who just survived from death. Wet to the bones and naked, I am clasping my white kimono undergarment like my life depends on it. I am so looking weird, like an exhibitionist right now. I hurriedly put my clothes on despite my body still drenching from water. After checking nobody is outside, I hurriedly run to my quarters hoping and praying that no problems will arise tomorrow.

***

Morning, it is.

The weather is nice and as usual we prepared breakfast early and on time. Still cautious about what happened last night, I am on guard even though I am working like nothing happened. Thankfully, it seems like nobody knows who or what happened last night. With stacked trays on my arms, I go to the main hall to serve the newly cooked breakfast for the retainers.

“You looked flushed, you okay?” asks with a happy-go-lucky tone by lord Tadakatsu to lord Yasumasa who is sitting beside him waiting for their breakfast meals to be served.

“I hope there is some hot soup in the menu today.” says lord Yasumasa more like to himself, than to lord Tadakatsu who is beside him looking bit puzzled.

After serving the others including Toramatsu’s food, I go to lord Tadakatsu and lord Yasumasa’s side next. I kneel in front of them and start serving their respective trays.

“Here is your breakfast milor--- achooooo..!”

“Is there a sou---- achooooo..!!”

The sound of my sneezing and for some reason, another sound of somebody’s sneeze too surprised me, lord Tadakatsu, lord Yasumasa as well as the other retainers nearby.

“Wow. Did something happen? Both of you are looking flushed and looks like both of you caught a cold too.” says lord Tadakatsu a bit taken aback by our sneezes. I realized that the other person that sneezed the same time with me is lord Yasumasa.

“Haahaha…*nervous laughing. It must be the weather.” I countered. But at the back of my mind, I don’t want to think but I get the feeling that it was lord Yasumasa that I smacked last night with the wooden pail. The one who entered the public bath. The one I saw naked. The one I almost killed…! Realizing this, I feel like fainting right there on the spot.

Shoot..!! MC!!! Pray he doesn’t notice or don’t get any idea!!!

“But the weather is nice though..that is weird haha” laughs off lord Tadakatsu as he starts digging his meal. Meanwhile, as I try to catch a glimpse of lord Yasumasa, I accidentally make an eye contact with him.

Oooopppss..! This is not good. I can see the reaction in his eyes. There is a sudden brief faint of surprise in his eyes, something that tells me that he must have realized it all and now he is suspicious of me.

Damn. Please, please, please..don’t let him realized it was me. I cry to myself inside, hoping that he still hasn’t caught on about it.

“I am going now milords...” I say meekly to them and bow. Then I go out from the main hall going straight to the kitchens in a hurried manner but not obvious.

***

“Hey, are you not hungry? I thought you are craving for some soup??” pry lord Tadakatsu to lord Yasumasa who is somewhat murmuring to himself.

“So he’s the stupid fool..” smirk lord Yasumasa, as if he is having fun on his little discovery.

“Hmm?? What are you talking about?” questions lord Tadakatsu.

“Nothing. Nothing...don’t mind me.” responds lord Yasumasa back as he begins his meal by sipping the hot soup from his steaming porcelain bowl.

***

In town.

With a basket on my arm, I stroll the town aimlessly while my head tries to come up with a good, reasonable and believable excuse if ever lord Yasumasa realized that it was me who almost killed him with a wooden pail last night.

“Ughhh.. What excuse I would say to him... What!?” I murmur to myself.

As I am walking, oddly, I suddenly heard the name Yasumasa in the street. Curious, I move nearer.

“Even though he is a samurai lord that works under the Tokugawa still don’t you think that it was too much? What he did to an old man like me? He abuses his power no matter how you look at it .”

“Omy, well..that is true..” nods reluctantly of an old lady from the restaurant, somehow feeling pitiful but hesitant towards the old man.

“Is that really true though?” counter the manju vendor that has a mini stall next to the restaurant. “..because from what I heard from the other vendors too, you are the one who started picking a fight with some kids…” states the vendor matter-of-factly.

“And who told you that?” butts in by the man who is with the old man. “That cocky boy and his young servant started it, he beat up an old man here.”

“Still, maybe the guy had a good reason? And we know the young servant who is with him. That young servant of his usually buys manju to me, and some of us know him..He is kind and isn’t the type of person to do such a thing..so I wonder if you are telling the truth..” doubts the manju vendor.

“What are you saying?? Are you accusing us then?” yells the man.

“Ohh my.. Please don’t fight here.” says the old lady from the restaurant, worried.

“Hey, calm down. Let it go buddy..” says the old man--who is playing innocent-- tapping the shoulder of his friend who is yelling at the manju vendor. “Well, if you don’t believe us, if you don’t believe this poor old man me, then I have no choice.” As he walks from the place, he suddenly stops and looks back at the manju vendor who still doubtful about them. “And ohh.. If I were you, I wouldn’t get too close to them, especially to that lord Yasumasa. He seems to like beautiful young guys.”

“What are you implying or trying to say here?”

“Ohh nothing. Just saying.. You don’t want to give him a wrong impression, do you?” says the old man with a crafty smile. “You see, I heard he does things with that little servant of his that you are saying you know.”

This time, despite my hard efforts on trying to stay still, hearing those words made me finally lose my patience. And before I know it, I am charging forward to those liars almost ready to smack them with the goods I have in my basket.

“Hey!! You are really being too much!” I strike back feeling really upset.

“And who are-- Ohh, I see.. Are you here to defend your master now?” smirks the old man with meaning. “See how he acts so defensive, I wonder why..hmm?”

Trying to compose myself, I talk back to the old man who pretends to be the victim with civility. “I don’t know why you feel so wronged here even though you are the one who is at fault here. It is true that lord Yasumasa beaten the heck out of you, but because you deserved it. You wouldn’t listen to reason, and you were about to hurt the kids way way smaller than you just because they tripped you or something. I think you already had enough badmouthing him for the whole town to know your lies. So will you stop now?” I say, my insides fuming.

After letting everything out, I face the restaurant lady and the manju vendor that I frequent to whenever I buy manju, “Please forgive me for causing a scene here. I just want you to know that lord Yasumasa isn’t the type of person this group of men are saying. He may not look friendly outside but in the inside, lord Yasumasa is a good and decent person that does his responsibilities well as a retainer and follower of lord Ieyasu. He won’t do something unless there is a reason behind it. He may have a sharp tongue but he genuinely cares for his duties as a Tokugawa retainer and he admires lord Ieyasu’s leadership. So much as he won’t do something that will put lord Ieyasu’s name into shame, like what those people are claiming.” I gave a glare those bad men, before bowing and saying goodbye to the restaurant lady and the manju vendor.

***

It is almost late afternoon. I walk in an alley--a shortcut to the castle-- with the basket in my left arm filled with new goods and spices that I bought in town, now feeling somehow calm, my anger subsiding already. “I hope they will finally stop now that I--” as I am about to turn, someone grab me from behind, my mouth being clasp by a hand. I try to escape, struggling so hard when another person suddenly pops up in front of me and punch me on the stomach so hard that I lose my consciousness right then and there.

***

Meanwhile in some corner of the alley just a few walks near where MC is being dragged unconsciously, laughter fills the air as children are playing with some rocks and pebbles.

“It’s my turn!” says the little boy to his fellow little friends as he throws a big flat pebble on the road missing the target objects laid out in the rough road. “Ooops, hahaha sorry. Wait I am going to get my rock.” says the little boy as he goes to the corner of the alley, as he is about to pick his rock, he saw a familiar figure. “Ohh! Is that onii-chan? Onii-chan..!~” he shouts but MC doesn’t seem to hear him, as he takes a closer look, he realized that MC--the one who took them home after being saved from the old drunkard man-- is being dragged by some men. “This is bad…!”

***

In the castle, lord Yasumasa seems to be looking again for his servant Yahiko. “Where the hell did that fool go again?” He strides and scans the corridor and the veranda but to no avail. “Just you wait and see. If you think you could fool me then you are so wrong. I wonder what kind of stupid excuse will you come up with this time..” murmurs lord Yasumasa to himself as he strides in the veranda going to the kitchens. His face looking not irritated or mad but instead, oddly, he is smirking. A mischievous smile forming on his face, it is as if he is enjoying this. Like he found something that will give him entertainment later.

As he arrives in the kitchen, he is about to ask the servants and kitchen ladies there when suddenly a kid running in a hurry bumps into him.

“Aaagghh..!”

Lord Yasumasa clearly not happy about it, scolds the boy telling to pay attention to his surroundings. When the boy looks up and realizes that it is lord Yasumasa that he bumped into, total relief shows on the little boy’s face. The boy immediately stands up, he grabs hold lord Yasumasa’s hakama and starts to plead. “Onii-chan..! Thank goodness its you! Yahiko-oniichan was dragged by some bad men out there. One of them is that scary drunkard we met before! I don’t know what happened but it seems like they will do something bad to him!”

“That fool..!” huffs lord Yasumasa under his breath. “Where did you last saw them?” he asks, immediately, following the little boy.

***

It seems that it is evening. As I look from the small window, the sun had long set already. The surroundings outside starting to really get dark. I am here in some kind of abandoned small house in the woods, the whole room only lit by a candle. I am trying to think calmly, trying to figure out how will I save myself from this bunch of old men before they return and discover that I am a girl. Just the thought of it, of what they will do once they discover my real identity sends shivers in my spine. I tried so many times untying myself, but the rope is so tight that I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried looking for a knife or something sharp around me but to no avail. I tried standing up, but they have tied my feet so tightly it is beginning to hurt and my legs feeling numb too. As the seconds pass, I am starting to panic.

“MC, focus..focus. You need to be strong and smart at a time like this.” I say to myself but to no effect. The ropes on my hands and feet are too tight, I can’t loosened it. Nobody knows that I am here. I don’t have anyone that is close to me that will worry about me to be honest. I can’t think of anyone. But even if let say Umeko notice me not still there preparing dinner with them, she would just probably think that I am out there flirting with some women about my age.. So help from the outside would be impossible. Now, what? Now what, MC??

As I try harder to come up with some escape plan, I hear my abductors opening the door of this small cottage. I don’t know if it is the right thing to do but I pretend to sleep. I can hear them talking, and worse, the air smells sake. And it seems like they are drinking. I can smell the sake lingering in the place. Please, please, don’t let them do anything bad to me. I pray.

“So what we will do now?” asks the man.

“We will teach this boy a lesson. A lesson he will never forget so that he would not be bold enough again. Like what he did to us earlier.”

“So we will what? Beat him up? This thin, woman-like boy?”

“Oh hell..” replies the old man, that drunkard to his accomplice. “You should be a bit creative sometimes..”

“Creative? You mean?”

“Oh come on, just look at this guy’s skin? Almost similar to a woman’s. And guess what? When I dragged him, the smell..!!! Hahaha I have never smell a man so nice, so nice that I want to try and see myself..” the old man cackles, his laugh so menacing my whole body freezes, my heart beating so rapidly against my chest that it almost feels like it is about to burst at any moment.

Still lying on the cold floor, faking to be asleep, nervousness creeping on me, I say to myself that if ever these men starts to get near to me, I will really, really smack them hard with my head before they do something to me. And I need to do it so hard, so hard enough to get my chance to run right away from them. I brace myself. Readying to use my head. I feel them moving closer to me, the sake smell lingering more, smelling more stronger and nearer.

“Hey wake up little, pretty boy..~” says the old man in a very lewd way it gives me the chills.

“Hahahaha wake up boy, wake up wake up~” says the other too.

When I feel their hands almost reaching me, I open my eyes like an alarmed creature in the middle of the night, and smack them so hard using my head that I, too, almost stagger and feel some dizziness and pain. They stumble, both of them, then I take my chance when I find my balance again, I start to run towards the door only to be dragged by the hair by the old man. I lose my balance, and really fall hard to the floor. Suddenly the old man shouts, “grab him by the legs..!”. The other man, tightly hold my legs, my feet, I don’t know any more-- I struggle, struggle so hard that I feel the pain all over my body.

MC, you need to fight..! Fight..! Don't let them..! Don’t..!!

I shout inside my head, like a mantra, I keep on repeating those words.

But my body will not listen. It does not listen at all. The weight of the two man, ganging up on me, holding me so hard and so tight that I can feel their nails sinking on my sink, on my flesh. It is just too much. I try to fight so hard, so hard… I thought I was shouting but I don’t hear a thing at all. I don’t hear my voice at all. Strangely, my mouth is open, struggling trying to say something but no words come out from it. Just groans of me. Groans of struggling so hard from keeping them from touching me.

But my body starts to lose all the energy it has, my hands and feet getting weaker and weaker. But my mind keep on commanding me, fight..! MC you have to fight!.

They finally grabbed my kimono collar, the old man in a sudden force tear them apart, almost choking me. The pain stings on my neck. I told myself it is no time for crying but my eyes starts to get a bit teary and my vision starts to blur. But I told my head again, this is not the time for crying. I have to fight them.

I scratch the old man’s face, but he slaps me so hard almost sending all the consciousness in me away. He stops for a second, groaning. But the other man, hold me even tighter, I can’t move at all. Then that old man suddenly is on top of me, undressing me..my head is in a swirl as I try to stop them with all my might.

“Ohh..hahaha” cracks the old man.

“She is a girl..! So she is a girl..! We are lucky..!” says the other.

Somebody, please help..please…

As they are about to remove my hakama, the man on top of me suddenly is sent flying to the other side. While the other who is just below me, holding my feet and legs, gasps and then yells with a groan, “Aggghhh...!”

I don’t know what is happening but the man seems like his arms are being twisted, so hard I think I heard a crack like something snapped. Then the man yells and cries so hard, “Argggghh..! aghhhh..!!! my arms! my arms..!!!!!”

“You, who the hell are you!!??? Wait, you are--” then again the old man who was sent flying suddenly lost his voice, somebody punches him in the face so hard that I see blood spilling in the air. “urgkkh..!”

Everything's happening so fast, I don’t know anymore. My body feels so weak, I couldn’t move from the spot.

“Let us go..! let us go!! I don’t care anymore, you can have the girl, just let us go!!”

“My arms..! don’t come any closer! It is not my idea! It is his!!”

I hear shouts, then groans and then, I hear somebody scrambling to their feet, banging the door open and finally they are gone like the wind. Suddenly, the surrounding becomes quiet, so quiet you can hear the sounds and cries of the night insects in the woods. I am left here, almost lifeless. My body feels so cold against the ground. I couldn’t move an inch at all..

Then, I see a somehow familiar figure coming into view in front of me. He is looking at me, his eyes and his expression, I can’t figure out at first. But then, there is this brief surprised in his eyes, then a bewildered yet worried expression. I don’t know if it is just my imagination. Then in a very faint voice, almost like a whisper, I hear my little brother’s name.

“...Yahiko..?” so soft, his voice almost like he is careful of mentioning it.

It is lord Yasumasa, kneeling now beside me, helping me get to my feet.

“...you..you are such a trouble..I-- I mean, in a mess..” he says almost like a whisper. His voice seems like he is reprimanding me, but in a gentle tone and manner. Then without a word, he scoops me like a beaten puppy from the floor. I still couldn’t move nor say anything, my mind is blank.

Then, suddenly, tears comes rushing in. In his arms, like a lost child, I cry and cry. Muffled cries. He is a bit shocked, then I thought he would complain or get annoyed at me behaving like this but he doesn’t speak. He holds me in his arms, quietly and without his usual complaints. He listens to my sobs. He is just there, holding me like I am a dear thing.

I don’t know why I am crying now. There are these mixed emotions playing inside me right now. I feel so glad that somebody saved me. That those men are now gone. That lord Yasumasa is here. Yet I feel so scared and terrified about what just happened. My body is trembling as I cry. I am so scared. So scared that no matter how much I try to stop myself from sobbing, my tears just won’t stop from falling.

We are in that position for a little long. Him cradling me like a child. I can’t see his face clearly because my eyes are all blurred by my tears. My hands, then, find their way on his collar, grabbing and tugging it lightly. For some reason, I feel angry at him. Inside my head, thoughts and emotions are pouring out. Like, thoughts, why am I even getting mad for this jerk’s sake? Why i feel so concerned for this man. Why do I ended up in this kind of situation. Anger, fear and confusion is welling up on me. I keep on sobbing with anger and then relief that he is here. That someone looked for me, protected me. Because I thought no one would notice that I am actually missing, that no one would come for me. Huge relief and comfort washes over me now that everything is over. No more evil laughter, no more sake lingering around me. Just calmness, quietness, and him.

***

MC has now fallen asleep soundly in Yasumasa’s arms. Her face much better than before. All the fears and sadness and shock, already gone in her. Her pallor is getting better as the color in her cheeks returns. Her body temperature, still a bit cold, but much better than when he first held her in that state. It is dark, very dark now, the round moon, the only light in the wide evening sky together with the glimmering of the little stars. All the retainers are probably at the main hall right now, in the middle of their dinner. Thankfully no one is in the veranda, Yasumasa carries MC quietly to her quarters. Without so much a sound, he puts MC on her bedding, careful to not wake her up. He realizes now that her collar is ripped and opened too much, the fabric in tatters like it was roughly and forcefully pulled open. Her neck with bit of scratches and redness. He sees the bindings on MC, white strip of fabrics tightly wrapped around her to conceal her identity. Her being a woman.

He puts the collar back in place, swiftly yet carefully. He stands and get an extra blanket from a cabinet. He put it on top of MC until she is covered comfortably in blankets. The trembling of her body has finally stopped, exchanged with a sense of calmness showing on her whole face.

Yasumasa sits beside her, arms crossed, staring at her, observing her peaceful breathing. And at the same time, he seems like he is in a deep ponder. He has never been this puzzled before, so unsure of what to do, supposed to feel or say in this kind of situation.

Outside, you can hear the laughter of some of the retainers from the main hall. Merrily eating and having nice conversations and talks, perhaps. You can hear lord Tadakatsu too being weird again, and Toramatsu trying to stop him from doing something. Everyone is lively tonight as usual.

While inside MC’s quarters, the place is calm and still.

The candle, flickering, giving light and shine to MC’s fair skin and womanly features evident on her face. Why hadn’t he noticed of it? He foolishly asks himself in his mind. If you take a closer and careful look at her, you can tell that she is a girl. And yet he didn’t notice it at all. And why he--or she is pretending to be a boy? For what reason? does anyone know her secret? Does lord Ieyasu knows this?? or not? Questions floods into his mind like a torrent.

And why the hell did he--I mean, she got dragged and kidnapped by those worthless trash? How did she got herself into that kind of--

Lord Yasumasa just sighs and stops from asking himself such questions..

“You fool. I clearly told you to use your brain properly, but what is this?” complains lord Yasumasa under his breath.

He sighs again. “Did you tried to be a hero or something again? ..did you boldly speak up...for me? ...you stupid fool. Always poking your nose into something you shouldn’t be concerned to begin with. Now look at--- look at you.. why? I, I really..I really don’t get you at all. You weirdo..” says lord Yasumasa in a somehow light reprimand, sounding a bit irritated but with a tinge of concern and sadness in his voice.

“Now, what I should do with you...you-- you stupid woman..” whispers lord Yasumasa to himself, as he observes the calm breathing of MC.

***

____________________________

tagging: @shiranata, @ieyasu-tacogawa @yvckie @sassy-spocko @all-my-cuffs-have-buttons @bmp-slbp-matchup @sagaralisa @uesugi-miu @bulbaqueen @krookls @frywen-babbles

#slbp npc #slbp yasumasa #slbp fic #fanfic #slbp fanfic #slbp yasumasa x mc

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sienna-writes · 4 years

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3, 9, 13, and 15 pls!!

—3; what order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favourite scenes first? Something else?

Oh gosh... My writing process is so messy! I do, primarily, write linearly. However... When I get stuck/I'm finding a scene or chapter difficult I move to later events in the novel or more exciting scenes. Sometimes this even helps me work through the block! I pants, so sometimes the future scenes help me figure out what might have happened in the previous scenes I'm stuck on!

As I say, I do tend to write linearly. However, for context, the first 21673 words are chronological, and the next 7223 consist of future scenes, and a half finished chapter :")

—9; what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

listen to music! brainstorm! romantisice my characters and plot in my head to hype myself up! go through my pinterest boards! watch writing vlogs!

—13; your strengths as an author!

Imagery! My poetry is very imagery heavy, and my prose is too. Maybe too flowery?

It's simultaneously my strength and weakness, I've been focusing lately on fine tuning and cleaning up my prose so I can strike the right balance. I'm really happy with my writing style at the moment. It's undergone alot of change in the past months, I feel like now I have the time to write (and read!!!) I've been improving rapidly.

—15; why did you start writing?

This question doesn't really have a distinct answer! When I was younger before I could write properly I was obsessed with the idea of being able to write, and I still have a notebook from that time (I must have been five or six) full of scribbles. My parents told me I would look around me and scribble as if I were a reporter, which I thought was really funny.

When we were learning how to write in school, whenever I got home I would spend hours and hours and hours practising my handwriting, copying out entire books (mainly Dr Seuss because I loved him), and doodling and writing completely incoherent stories.

I would devour books when I got better at reading, and then I'd just write constantly whenever I had the time. And then, honestly, I kind of... Stopped? When I got to high school I was so paralysingly anxious and dissociated and going through stuff that I didn't have time or the energy to write anymore. The only thing I'd write were journal entries trying to make sense of what I was going through. Then I found POETRY!! this is so cringe, and everyone says this, but it saved me somewhat! I absolutely adore poetry! It's my favourite form to write in, for SURE.

The only prose writing I'd do until I was about fifteen (we took a three fuckin year break lads, whEW) would be for school. Eventually, I got back to it, and started writing flash fiction and short stories, which I also love. And now I'm writing SO much! literally SO MUCH! I'm so proud of myself, I've improved alot, I'm finally finding my style without the restrictions of assignments. I'm writing my first novel! I've finished the poetry collection I started in January!

I'm an incredibly anxious, underconfident person. I am terrible in social situations, I don't really have any close friends, I've left high school now (onto college for me thank GOD!) but I would eat my lunch in the toilets alone to escape the noise and *bullying*. Email is the only way I could talk to teachers, for a long time. Writing has always been my safety net, the way I could communicate, and my teachers have always complimented me on it. (Bless all English teachers honestly, absolute SWEETHEARTS!)

sorry for rambling, woAh!

(This ask was from a while ago, sorry to the anon who asked these, I didn’t feel it was right to post writing related stuff while much more poignant and important discussions were being had. That being said, the black lives matter movement needs to maintain momentum, even if its not a “trending” issue. People should always be active in standing up against injustice or predjudice etc. I haven’t been as outspoken on this platform as perhaps I should have been, however, I have been donating, signing petitions, and speaking out primarily on my instagram where I have a much larger following than I do here. Only 49 people follow my tumblr (I’m a newbie writeblr screaming into the void), whereas 853 people follow my instagram. I have been doing my bit, I promise, and I will continue to do so, as my platform on Instagram is generally where I am most of the time. It’s also where I share posts related to feminism, lgbtq issues, disability, mental illness, poc issues etc.)

#writing #writer asks #writer #writer community #writeblr #anxiety #mental illness

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littlejeanniebean · 4 years

Text

Ep. 2 | The Marauders: Moonlighter Sessions

A/N: Wolfstar in the recording studio! I repeat, Wolfstar in the recording studio! Art by the lovely @arthurstrangerguy <3

More Marauders in my masterlist!

Ep. 1: Chase Her

Read on AO3!

- J xx

The studio they’d been practically living in for the past eight months had red velvet walls and a leather couch to match. It was dimly lit despite the mid-morning hour.

James moved some pieces of paper with their song titles scribbled on them around their magnetic white board, “Right, so we have Chase Her, Seek You Out -”

“You can’t have those two next to each other,” Sirius and Remus, who were doing each other’s nails, said simultaneously.

“Desire’s Looking Glass is a good second track, I think,” said Peter, his fingers lightly skimming over the keys, “Shows we’ve got range.”

“Good, good,” James nodded, “I like Ordinary No. 4 but it doesn’t really fit anywhere…”

“Put Tapestry before it, after Seek You, but have Dragon Slayer between Desire and Seek You,” Remus tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“I like that,” Sirius seconded.

“Sticks and Swords before Dragon?” James proposed.

“Too much of a mood shift,” Sirius and Remus said. The latter added, “Put it after No. 4.”

“That leaves Frequent Flier, then Lucky Number 7 as the closer, which I like the sound of… I just feel like something’s missing between Desire and Dragon…”

“I agree, ten would be nice, as nice could be, nicer than nine,” Peter crooned with his piano.

“Hey, Pete, could you play that again?” Remus closed his eyes and placed his hands on his knees. For a while, the room was filled only with the calming tinkle of keys. Finally, he said, “We need strings. Not too many. Just a cello.”

“I’ll make a call,” Sirius went out into the hall.

“Tonks!” James cheered from behind the drum kit when he saw the pink-haired girl fifteen minutes later, lugging her cello case behind her with ease.

“Wotcher, lads!” the musician set down her instrument and tousled her page-boy cut so she actually cut a figure that mirrored the drummer.

“How’s Andrea?” Peter set up the sheet music he had jotted down so far for her, “I saw the latest Bake-Off episode last night - that was brutal.”

“Oh, she’s got a comeback all planned,” Tonks grinned, setting her bow to the strings, “Mum is a force of nature.”

The low, earthy hum of the cello stunned them into silence.

“Alright, Remy?” asked Sirius.

The pale boy’s blue eyes had watered and he blinked profusely, “Erm, yes, that was beautiful, Tonks.”

“Thank you,” she blushed, “Peter, if I may… improvise a bit?”

“By all means!” the chubby blond, who was a classical musician by training, nodded eagerly.

Tonks swooped her bow and brought them a crescendo, “Whew! Did you get that?”

Remus had one headphone pressed to his ear and gave her a thumbs up, “Do you want to try layering some staccato over the runs?”

“Yes!” she donned a pair of headphones, which looked too large for her petite head but only added to her cuteness.

Their usually shy bassist and mixer was overflowing with ideas and the song just kept building between himself, Tonks, and Peter. He caught Sirius’ eyes watching him with… pride? Love? Then, he did something he never had before: he sang solo.

The gift of your melody

How did I ever live

‘Til the day I heard it

The way you look and see

Into my very soul

Parts I’d rather let alone

His voice wasn’t strong like James’ or husky like Sirius’, or even smooth like Peter’s, but no lyric on their album until now sounded quite so raw and vulnerable.

The stars can try to burn me

All I feel is warm under your sun

You’re the only sign I see

All we have is suddenly enough

Remus seemed to realize he was singing out loud in front of an audience and ducked his head with pinked cheeks.

“Do you lot always write songs this fast?” Tonks looked between the band members in amazement.

“Hardly. It seems you’ve inspired ol’ Remy,” James’ chuckle was interrupted by the door slamming, leaving a vacant space where Sirius once stood.

“What’s gotten into him?” Peter reached into the biscuit jar. Music always made him hungry.

“It’s probably Walburga again,” James sighed, “She’s been texting - harassing - him to come back to the show, but now that he’s eighteen, she can’t bind him to his contract anymore.”

“I swear half the ratings are from his presence alone,” Tonks shook her head, “All the girls at school love him and ask me about him all the time.”

“But… he came out last season,” Remus puzzled.

“They’re convinced it was a stunt for the show,” she played with the silver charms on her bracelet, “or that he just wanted to twist Burga’s guts.”

“That sounds like our Sirius,” James covered his lopsided grin with his hand.

Remus was silent and put away the nail polish tubes with an almost imperceptible sulk to his lanky stature.

Peter frowned and went off to find their friend. He stopped short at the sound of snuffles coming from the washroom. He sat on the floor beside the weeping boy and held his shaking shoulders.

“Never fall for a straight boy,” Sirius sniffed woefully.

The pianist pursed his lips, “He’s technically never said that he -”

“You saw him in there! He said more than he ever had to any of us! Tonks is a nice girl… I mean… she’s my niece so that’s going to be awkward… God, have you ever seen Remus open up like that to anyone?” he fisted the front of his Rolling Stones t-shirt in his veiny hands, “Her music spoke to him… or maybe we just haven’t been listening to him enough? I mean… I know I’m loud… Am I a terrible friend, Pete?”

“No, you’re not! I think… if you like someone… you need to tell them. You and James both. There’s no romance in pining. It’s just a wretched feeling.”

“But I’m too late,” Sirius moped.

They sat there awhile longer before Peter insisted that he’d feel better if he had some lunch.

“Petey, do me a favour, take everyone out to eat… I just… I just want to be alone with Kitty for a bit,” Kitty was his electric guitar.

Peter wanted to scream, “He loves you too, alright?!” but this was something they had to talk out themselves, so all he said was, “Sure, whatever you need.”

Alone in the studio, Sirius played a few mournful notes before carressing the strings in a light strumming pattern, swirling up his feelings from where they slumbered within, until he couldn’t bear it anymore. He stood suddenly and hit the record button.

Let me be your moonlight, moonlighter love

Let me be your low-light, hold tighter love

Let me be your good time, feels righter love

Let me be your moonlight, moonlighter love

Kitty let out a few lingering wails at his command.

Remus was the first of the group to return and when he saw Sirius in the booth, he smiled so his dimples popped and put on the headphones so he could listen from the outside.

Let me be your moonlight, moonlighter love

Let me be your midnight, ghost-rider love

Let me be your closed-eyes, lonely-nighter love

Let me be your moonlight, moonlighter love

Remus seemed to be transfixed on the dark-haired crooner as the last electric hum left Kitty’s baby pink body.

“That’s all I got,” Sirius said finally.

“Right, right…” he ended the recording, “D’y’mind if I layer that over what we made earlier?” the mixer asked softly, “I think that’s the sound we’re missing and it’s a beautiful chorus.”

“It doesn’t really go with that sun and warmth bit you had going, does it?”

Remus tilted his head like a wolf pup might, “The best love has a sense of duality and balance.”

Sirius nodded and came out of the booth. He laid his head on his friend’s - for that was what they were, he thought, all they were - shoulder while the track was built. “You need to use more aloe vera.”

“Hmm?”

“Scars on your chin from our little motorcycle accident,” a pang of guilt shot like a pinball around his chest cavity. He’d been the one driving.

“But I like them. It makes me edgy.”

“What?” Sirius couldn’t help but laugh.

Remus blushed, “You and James - but you especially - are… tough lads, you know? And then there’s me… homely, gay band junkie -”

“Wait, say that again?” Sirius sat up so they were practically nose to nose.

“I’m a band junkie?”

“No, before that!”

“I’m homely and gay?”

“Yes!” Sirius cheered and then kissed him hard.

Remus’ initial confusion gave way to passion as he entangled his fingers in the other boy’s long locks.

“Mm!” Sirius only pulled away to say, “I’ve got the last chorus!”

Let me be your moonlight, moonlighter love

Let me be your take time, take higher love

Let me be your goodnight, sweet sigher love

Let me be your moonlight, moonlighter love

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nooneelsecomesclose17 · 5 years

Text

How I got to where I am - Part 4 (complete)

Whew, I got it finished! I realised I’d left out a few characters here and there, so just for this Jack and Diane didn’t get together and Faith hasn’t returned to the village as yet.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 /

It's a week since Seb's party when Aaron finally cracks. Robert had known it was coming but he wanted to avoid the conversation for as long as he could. His Mum is out at the pub with Vic and Seb is in bed when Aaron finds him in their room, supposedly sorting the laundry but he's spent most of the time staring out into the night.

"Are you ever going to tell me what's wrong?" He asks perching on the edge of the bed.

"There's nothing wrong.” He doesn’t even sound convincing to himself.

"Robert I'm not stupid. Is it your Dad? Has he been round again?" He'd tried once, got shown the door by Aaron when Robert wasn't in. He shakes his head. "Then what is it?"

"Are you being honest with me when you say you don't want to move back here?"

"I told you I was happy as things are." He sets down the shirt he's been folding and unfolding. "That's not really an answer. I heard you, in the garden the other day, you and your Mum. I forgot Seb's jacket, came back and...you said you missed it here."

"I do. Of course I do. It was my home. But I have a home in Cornwall with you." He pulls him down onto the bed to stop his pacing. "You know I'm happy. Me, you and Seb.”

"I know. I was just...do you think we could make it work here? Just hypothetically.”

“I don't know. Would you even want to? You didn't want to come back so why would you want to live here again?"

"It'd make your happy though."

"Not if the thing making me happy is making you miserable at the same time."

"Mum said that I wasn't that boy any more, but I feel like him again every time I see him. I don't know how to deal with that." He lain awake nights on end trying to work his feelings out and he’d got nowhere.

"Then don't. We stay where we are."

"But..."

"No buts. My family will learn to cope. Besides your Mum and Vic aren’t going to up sticks, it'd be the same if they were left behind."

"I feel like I'm dragging you away from them."

"Well you're not so stop that." He kisses his check and gets up. "You want some tea?"

"No. I think I'll...do you mind if I go for a walk? Clear my head?" Aaron shakes his head. "I love you."

"Love you too. Go on. I'll finish that.”

He grabs his jacket and heads out. He wanders around a while, the village quiet. He has good memories of the place, maybe he needs to let them out more, replace the bad with the good.

He ends up staring at the pub. It looks pretty full and he doesn't really want to encounter anyone so he slips in the back, Chas telling them to any time. He can hear voices, his Mum and Chas by the sounds of it and he stops to listen, can hear his Gran scolding him for eavesdropping as if she were standing right there. He can't help it though not when he hears his and Aaron's names mentioned.

“...I suppose I shouldn't be so selfish, expecting Aaron to come back home, but we all miss him so much."

"You know until he turned up Robert was still so...well lost isn't the right word...but he was still accepting himself, dealing with a baby. Now Aaron, he changed him for the better."

"You'd miss him if he left.” He steps closer wanting to hear his Mum’s reply.

"Of course, but if it were the right thing I could learn to cope. I told him only the other night to talk to Aaron, He's trying to make such a big decision on his own when if he just asked for help it'd be there. He has all of his father's stubbornness that boy."

“But they are happy? Really I mean. Aaron hasn’t, well he never says much about anything.”

“They are, really happy. If Jack weren't around you know I think they’d move in a heartbeat. Anything to make Aaron happy." He can’t help smiling because he knows she’s right, he would.

“Do you think they might move here though despite everything that happened with Jack?”

"Maybe. Robert was worrying himself about work so he's thinking about it. I never know what he'll do though. I'm not sure he does half the time. Aaron does though. He knows him better that any of us.”

He stops then, creeps out of the back door and heads home. He was no nearer a decision but he had a starting point of how to come to one.

*****

He slips out of bed the next morning, Aaron still sleeping. He leaves him a note telling him he'd gone for a walk. He done it a lot lately, slipping out of bed early in the morning and going for a walk around the village so Aaron won’t find it odd.

It's Tuesday, market day, he knew that was still the same, he'd checked last night. Hopefully Andy would be gone, his Dad always disliked the market.

He stands on the drive for a long time, finding the courage to go inside, to knock on the door. He knows if he'd asked Aaron, his Mum or even Vic would've come with him, but he had to do this alone, He had to expel the ghost almost before he could do anything else.

His Dad walking across the yard drags him back to reality and he walks up the lane. He’s not expecting a reunion, doesn’t want one. He’s not sure what he does want but he thinks talking to him might help. He’s older, he can do it by himself, he can face this, has Aaron waiting at home. He knows if there's any chance of them making up here then he needs to sort this, needs his Dad to know how he feels.

"Dad!" He looks shocked to see him and they stare at each cone in silence for a good few seconds before his Dad comes closer.

"Was just heading for milking. Can give me a hand if you're here."

“I need to talk to you.” He’s glad his voice is stronger than he feels.

"You can talk while we work. standing still wastes..."

"Time. I remember." He sighs. "Alright."

They're quiet for a while getting on with the job, herding the cattle into the shed, getting them fed. "You remember."

"Guess it's in the genes.” He finds he’s missed it in a funny sort of way. Not that he’d ever wanted to do it full time but he’d always enjoyed being with the animals.

"So. What did you want to talk about. " He scratches his head. "To apologise for the other night?"

"I've got nothing to apologise for. I came to say that Aaron and I...well we might be moving here and I...if we're going to be in the same village we should make some kind of peace."

"We're not at war, lad."

"Aren't we? You don't even see that what you did was wrong do you?" He doesn't answer. "All I want is to live here if we choose, with my boyfriend and my son without worrying that I'll run into you in the street and keep having the same conversation over and over again."

"This is my home, I'm not the one who ran away.”

“See that’s what you don’t seem to grasp. I ran because I felt I had no other choice. I know you went off to Italy long before I was born, but the difference between me and you was, I didn’t want to leave, I just couldn’t stay because you never would’ve accepted me. Would you?”

“You’ve no idea what it’s like to walk in on your son…”

“What? Kissing? That’s all it was Dad, same as Andy and Katie numerous times right in front of you but that didn’t bother you. But you’re right, I don’t know what it’s like, but if in the future I do, then my first instinct won’t be to beat Seb or any other children we might have. You could’ve talked to me, tried to listen but you didn’t. You saw something you didn’t like and that’s not allowed is it Dad?”

“You’re twisting everything.”

“I’m not. There’s no point going over and over it because you won’t change. I know that.”

“So why are you so keen to move back here then, if I’m so horrible to be near?”

“Because it was my home once. It’s Aaron’s home, his family is here. There’s no fixing us, you broke it, but he has a family he loves and I’m not going to deprive him of that because of you. I just want to know you won't be pulling any stunts like the other night. Seb's nothing to do with you."

“He's my blood."

"So am I. Blood is only important to you if we do what you want. I didn't, I wasn't the son you wanted. I like men as well as women, I didn't want to run the farm and everything else I did that you didn’t approve of meant I didn't matter. I won't let you close to Seb only for you to hurt him when he doesn't conform to your ideal view of the world."

"You make me sound like a monster. I'm just an old man on his own."

“Yeah and whose fault is that? You had a family and we were happy. Then you went after Rachel, you hurt Mum, then you sided with Andy and lied to her after she nearly died, you terrified Vic so much she didn't want to see you, and me...you made me feel like I was disgusting for something I had no control over. That's all on you."

“Robert... “

“If I thought you’d changed, that you were sorry, that you were absolutely ok with me, and Aaron then maybe I could see a way for us to at least be civil, but I don’t think you are, or ever will be. I don't really have anything else to say. If we move here, I'll keep out of your way. All you have to do is the same." He doesn’t answer but he nods ever so slightly. "You know, it didn't have to be like this. I used to look up to you, you were my hero.” With that he turned to walk away. “Bye Dad.”

*****

"You've been ages!" Aaron's almost in a panic when he walks in the door. He’d taken the long way back home, back across the fields he remembered running around as a child. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to come back. Not that he didn’t like Cornwall and living near the sea, but there was just something about this place and he could see them bringing Seb up here.

“I went for a walk. Where is everyone?”

"Your Mum and Vic have taken Seb into Hotten, something about shoes. It was a long old walk." He sits down at the table, rolling an apple in his hands for something to do.

"I went up to the farm to see Dad.”

"What? Why?"

"To tell him that if we move here I wanted him to stay out of the way.”

“But we're not moving here."

"You want to though, don't you? I know what you said but you miss it. Aaron, you look happier than I've seen you these past few days, with your family. I can't be the person who takes that away from you. I won't."

"You really think I'd be unhappy if we stayed where we are?"

"No, but I'd always be thinking if it weren't for me you'd be here with your family. I'm not doing this when I don't want to. it could be good for us, a fresh start."

"And you think he'll do as you asked? Stay away, not try and see Seb or whatever."

"I don't know, but he's not this big problem now, in my head, not like before. I’ve...I s’pose I've dealt with it in my head the best I can. What he does is his problem. I've got my family while he's up there pretty much alone." He'd learnt from Andy that while he lived on the farm, most of his time was spent either with the kids or with his girlfriend. "I want this Aaron, I promise, this isn’t just me acting crazy."

"You're not just...don't take this the wrong way but this isn’t some way of getting in his face. I don't want us doing this for the wrong reasons.”

"No! I…I've been thinking about it since I got here, before that I guess. It'll be hard leaving Mum and Vic but we won't be on our own will we?"

"Definitely not, in fact you should probably get used to them barging in at all hours."

"We can buy good locks." Aaron mutters something about crowbars but he decides he's better off not knowing.

"So we're doing this?” He nods, smile brightening his features.

"We are."

"We need to find a house and..." He pulls Aaron towards him kissing him, the fastest way to shut him up.

“Details. More importantly, we have the house to ourselves.”

*****

“Nana! We’re going to live on the farm!” They don’t have chance to stop him before Seb’s at the door when he hears Sarah and Vic returning from a day out a few days after their talk.

“What’s that monkey?”

“Daddy and Aaron said!” Robert ignores Aaron laughing into his hands and wanders over, ruffling Seb’s hair.

“Thanks mate. Why don’t you go play for a bit before tea yeah? While I tell Nana everything.”

“What’s he on about Rob?” Vic’s voice is accusing and he exchanges glances with Aaron before sitting down.

"Mum, Vic, we need to talk to you." They've talked of nothing else for days and now they had to break the news. “I didn’t expect him to…anyway…"

"What's wrong love?” She has a knowing look on her face, as though she’s already guessed what he’s going to say.

"Nothing. Aaron and me…we've decided that we're going to move here." His Mum is smiling before he even finishes. Vic just looks stunned. "I know it's a shock Vic, but Aaron's been away from his family for so long and...well despite everything I like it here. We think it’s going to be a good thing for all of us.”

"Where will you live? What about the restaurant? You'll be leaving us!"

"Vic, none of this is happening right now." Aaron tells her. "We have a lot to sort out before anything happens."

"I'm not going to leave you in the lurch. You know I wouldn’t. Besides, there are these wonderful inventions, you dial a number and...ow!" She reaches over and hits his arm. "Seriously I'll make sure you're all sorted before I leave. You can come and visit whenever you want when we move."

"Yeah, always on the lookout for good babysitters.” Aaron teases.

“I’ll smack you one too in a minute! Oh I am happy for you, it’s just a shock, that’s all.”

“What about you Mum?”

“Oh love, as long as you two are happy, so am I. I’ll miss you of course I will but I think you’re doing the right thing. I assume Seb’s happiness is because you told him?” Robert nods, they’d sat him down that morning once they’d made their decision, tried to explain to him that they’d soon be living here full time and not near the sea any more.

“I think he understood, he was more interested in being able to see Moira’s sheep all the time so who knows. Not sure how we’ll break it to him that we’re not actually going to be living on the farm."

“With you it was owls and ponies as I remember! You’ll be making plenty of trips up to Moira’s before long.” He Mum teases, laughing. “We should celebrate. Drinks and tea at the pub?”

“Why not. I have to break the news to Mum at some point.” Robert nods and gets up to fetch Seb.

“She’ll be over the moon love, I know how much she’s missed you.” He hears his Mum say as he climbs the stairs.

*****

“Oh love that’s amazing! It’s going to be great having you all here.” Chas is all but shouting as she rushes round the bar to hug her son, pulling Robert in alongside him. “Tell me everything.”

“Mum there’s nothin’ to tell, we only decided yesterday!”

“Well I told you Cain would give you your old job back if you wanted. I can have a word with him. What about you Robert?”

“Like he said we haven’t worked out the details yet. I could always pull pints for you.” Aaron snorts.

“If I didn’t know you were joking I might just take you up on that. It’s not like our Charity is much help.”

Later they’re sitting at a table, Seb finishing off the last of his chips complaining whenever Robert pretends to take one, when he sees Paddy come in from the back. Aaron goes over and he can tell he’s breaking the news. He’s spoken to the vet a few times but he can’t help feeling he doesn’t approve. Aaron tells him he’s imagining it but he can’t put his finger on what it is.

"He's just looking out for Aaron." His Mum says when she sees him frowning. "I haven't done anything to Aaron."

"He'll come round. You just need to get to know each other."

“You finished mate?” Seb nods, licking his finger. "You like it here don't you?"

“Yeah.”

“Good.” They’d spoken to him about moving and he seemed happy enough. They knew he likely didn’t understand but he was sure he’d enjoy it here.

"Daddy? Can I have some ice-cream?" He bursts out laughing.

"Go ask your Nana Chas."

"Nana Chas?" His Mum asks as Seb runs behind the bar. Robert shrugs.

"He came out with it the other day. It's true though isn’t it. Aaron's the only other parent he’s ever known. When we get married..."

"You're getting married?"

"One day. When we do it’ll all be legal won't it?"

"I'm so proud of you, you know that."

"I keep wondering what I would've been like if I'd stayed here. If I'd not come to you." He says a few minutes later.

"Well you did, so don’t waste time wondering about what might’ve been. You're happy, you've got your family, a lot more family now hey?"

"God help me.” He says as he looks over at Sam waving his arms around no doubt explaining something to Cain and Zak.

"Alright?" Aaron flops down beside him. "Paddy's tired but he’s coming over for tea tomorrow. Told him we'd be heading back soon."

"I thought the weekend?" Aaron nods and bursts into laughter at the sight of Seb carrying the biggest bowl of ice cream back to them.

"Oi listen up you lot! I've got some news." Aaron groans as Chas taps on a glass. "Our Aaron has just told me that he and Robert are going to be moving back to the village.”

“I tell you there's no need for social media or ‘owt like that with her around."

"So, I'd like you to raise your glasses, to my wonderful son and his Robert." He can't help smiling and kissing Aaron as everyone toasts them. Maybe everything really would turn out right.

*****

Six Months Later

"Are you ready love?" His Mum asks as she walks down the stairs.

"More than ready. You look great Mum." He tells her as she straightens his buttonhole.

"Thank you. Now where's Seb?"

"Vic took him outside, he was getting a bit excited." He looks round the house, still waiting to be decorated how they wanted, but it was all theirs. "Can you believe this?"

“What?"

"All this."

They'd been moved in for about three weeks, after a month living in the pub with Chas, an experience Robert wasn't keen on repeating. They'd both fallen in love with Mill, so much that they'd bought it, moving in as soon as they could.

The biggest surprise had been Chas stopping them the day they left to ask if they wanted to buy a part share in the pub. They’d thought about it, but he for one wasn’t entirely sure he could work with her all day. In the end they decided to invest in the garage, taking over as partners with Cain from Debbie. Cain hadn’t been that impressed to start with until Robert started bringing in more and more business.

He’d worried that spending so much time together would leave them feeling stifled but it hadn’t. If anything it made them closer. He spent most of his time on paperwork and besides he’d never tire of spending time with Aaron, especially in his overalls.

"You've landed on your feet love. Be happy."

"I am...it's just. Oh nothing I'm just being daft."

"I prefer cautious.” She kisses him on the cheek. "Right, are we all ready? Rings?”

"Andy has them. He's over there already." Next to how happy they were, his repaired relationship with Andy was the best thing about moving back. So much so that he was his best man. “Thanks Mum. You and Chas, you’ve made this perfect.”

“Oh stop it, or I’ll be crying before it even starts. Let’s get you married."

*****

“Seb’s at your Mum’s and the kitchen is done. Come with me.” Aaron stood at the door looking at him expectantly.

“I’ve all this to finish before tomorrow.” He was frantically checking everything was packed and ready for the movers who would be arriving the next morning.

“It’ll be there when we get back. Come on, one last look around.”

“You say that like Vic doesn’t already have dates pencilled in when we have to come back.”

“Robert, I’m trying, and apparently failing to do something nice.”

“Come on then. Can’t turn that down can I?”

The walk down to the harbour is slow, everyone knows they’re leaving and they’re stopped almost every minute with people wanting to say goodbye. Finally they reach their spot and sit on the wall looking out across the water.

“Cain wanted me to go to France when I left, did you know that?”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Couldn’t speak French.” Robert shakes his head on a laugh. “I thought I’d try my luck here first and if that didn’t work I’d go to France then.”

“Turned out alright in the end I suppose.”

“I guess. There’s this bloke though, can’t seem to shake him off.”

“People like that can be so annoying.” He laughs, hoping that however long they’re together they’d never lose this.

“Eh, he’s not bad in bed mind.”

“I’ll give you not bad in bed.” He shoves him a little, playfully. “You changed my life Aaron. I was happy but, there was always something missing. I didn’t feel...comfortable isn’t the right word but when I met you it all fit into place.” Aaron doesn’t say anything, just kisses him before making himself comfortable against his shoulder.

“You are absolutely sure about tomorrow aren’t you?” He asks after a while.

“I better be, we bought a house! But yes, I am. I’ve never been surer of anything. Is that why you brought me here, to check I wasn’t going to have a meltdown?”

“Partly.”

“And the other reason?”

“Will you marry me?” He says it in a rush, breaking into a smile when the words are out.

*****

They collect Vic and Seb on the way, Seb all smart in his matching suit. “You know what you’ve got to do mate?” He asks as he takes his hand.

“Yes Daddy.” He patted his pocket, a move so like Robert that Vic laughs.

Everything is set up when they get to the village hall. They’d not wanted to be married in some anonymous registry office or hotel. This had been Chas’s suggestion, outside in the village, and it was beautiful.

He has a flutter of panic when he can’t see Aaron but then he finds him to one side talking to a newly released Adam.

“You ready love?” He looks round at his Mum and takes her arm, watching Aaron do the same with Chas.

The service goes by in a flash but he knows he’ll remember every minute. When it’s over and he’s reluctantly let Aaron go he gives Seb a thumbs up and the little boy shuffles off his chair and comes over to them.

“Before everyone leaves, Seb has something he’d like to do.” He’d not been sure if this was the best time or place because he knew how Aaron got in front of loads of people, but he’d not thought for one minute Aaron would say no so he’d gone on with his plans, making sure Seb knew what to do.

“What’s going on?” Aaron hisses. Robert just smiles at him and picks Seb up, standing close to Aaron.

“Me and Seb have been talking a lot and, well I’ll let him tell you. Go on mate.”

“Will you be my Daddy too Aaron?” With that he pulls the envelope out of his pocket and hands it to Aaron.

“Really? You want me to?” Aaron asks him, tears already in his eyes again. Seb nods. “I would love to. Come here.”

Robert hands him over to Aaron and watches, his own eyes stinging with tears as Seb wraps his arms around Aaron’s neck. He can hear everyone clapping but he’s only focused on the two people in front of him.

“So what’s this then?” Aaron asks him as they make their way to the pub, holding up the envelope.

“He wrote you a letter. Well I wrote it, but it’s all his words about how he wants you to be his Dad.” He looks up the road to the pub as Chas stands in the doorway telling them to get a move on. “Read it later, yeah?”

*****

The party is in full swing and he’s finally found out what the welly is all about. He’d almost threatened Aaron with an instant divorce when Zak had handed it to him.

“Speech!” Someone yells when he’s just about standing upright again and he’s pretty sure it’s Vic because they’d said no speeches and it’s just like her to want to embarrass him. He can’t get out of it so he pulls Aaron into his side by the bar in front of everyone.

“I, er, thank you all for coming, Aaron and I really appreciate it. I didn’t have anything planned because we weren’t going to do speeches. Thank you Victoria. Um, I was scared about coming back here a few months ago and I wouldn’t have done if it hadn’t been for Aaron. I can honestly say I’m glad that I did. Emmerdale is my home. I’m not going to go on but if it weren’t for Aaron I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t be as ridiculously happy as I am now. He makes me feel like that every day, and he’s the best Dad to Seb. I’m just glad I came home one day to find this grumpy lad sat at the kitchen table like he owned the place.” Aaron’s laughing beside him as he puts his glass down. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

*****

“What are you doing out here?” Aaron’s got a pint in his hand rather than a Champagne glass as he comes down the steps to sit beside him on the bench.

“Just wanted some air. Your Mum wore me out with all that dancing.”

“I don’t know, your Mum gave her a run for her money. She’s going to take Seb home in a bit, he’s nearly asleep.” He nods and rests his head against Aaron’s shoulder.

“I, er, you are alright with everything aren’t you? Adopting him? I mean you’re already his Dad but he asked me if he could call you that and I…your Mum’s his Nana, and he’ll come up with something to call Paddy soon enough so it’s as official as it gets for me, but I want it to be properly official, I want him to be yours and so does he.”

Aaron’s got tears in his eyes and for a fleeting second he thinks he’s going to say it’s too much, despite what he said earlier. “Of course it’s what I want. You know it doesn’t matter that I’m not though, right? On paper I mean?”

“Course…but I want to do it. I spoke to a solicitor and he reckons it should be pretty straight forward.”

“I didn’t ever think I’d get to be this happy you know, not after…”

“I know. We’re not going to stop being happy Aaron, I promise.” He shifts so he’s holding him, just sitting for a minute away from the craziness inside. He looks round the village, the only sounds coming from inside the pub. When his gaze lands on the top of the village he catches sight of his Dad and he stiffens, not wanting a confrontation today of all days but he just stares at the two of them for a minute before turning away and heading up the road towards the farm.

“Everything’s perfect.” Aaron murmurs.

“Yes it is.”

#let's also ignore that they'd probably not have the money for mill shall we #and a business #if emmerdale can play fast and loose with money so can i #robron fic #i'm also leaving seb's letter to your imagination

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gotboredwrote · 5 years

Text

The Walking Stick // BHM

Pairing: Brian May x Fem!Reader Word Count: 3.5K Style: One-Shot Warnings: Fluff, childhood trauma in relation to bugs (entomophobia) Summary: Brian, being the animal-lover he is, starts to develop feelings for a new roadie who happens to have a severe phobia of one of the creatures he loves. He wants to help her when nothing else could. Permanent Author’s Note: To clarify, I write because I get bored. Nothing is meant to be professional in any way, nor is meant to offend, cause anxiety, cause anger, cause sadness, or promote disagreement among readers in any sort of (semi)permanent way. A/N: A small little thing that came to me out of nowhere, so this is just kind of… eh. Decided not to even edit this either. Sorry lol.

Masterlist

Some people called it irrational. Some people laughed at you when you freaked out. Very few people were okay with a panic attack if it happened. But it was not like you could control it. The fear was rooted deep within an experience from your childhood, so there was not much you could do about it.

In truth, for many years, any time something would happen, you tried to figure out what it was that could calm you down and you were never successful. Your parents always tried to help you, but any time they interfered, somehow it got worse. You were always completely on your own. Despite their attempts, your parents did offer one piece of advice you could see the advantage of taking, which was make sure to get a job where you would not be exposed to said fear. So, what did you do?

Take a job where all you would do is travel and be introduced to new species of bugs each and every day.

You had been interning at Chelsea College and you saw a job opportunity posted on one of the bulletin boards. Something related to being a roadie for a band called Queen. It paid well, and you desperately needed the money. Except you noticed that all the pull tabs had already been pulled, so you were not sure how you would go about applying. You noticed a phone number on the flyer, so you just decided to write it down and call it.

“Chelsea College music hall.”

“Oh, um hi. My name is Y/N Y/L/N and I was calling in reference to a… a flyer I saw on—”

“Queen?”

“Y-yes. Could you put me in contact with them?”

“They’re here now, walk over and I’ll send you back.”

“Oh, okay, um… thank y—” And you heard the phone hit the receiver.

You walked over to the building, reintroducing yourself to the, frankly, rude receptionist for the building. He directed you to the room you needed to go to, and once you were in front of the door, you quietly knocked and waited. What exactly were you going to say? You knew this position had already been filled, if the pull tabs being missed was anything to go by. After about 30 seconds, you heard some heavy footsteps toward the door, probably by someone in boots, and then it swung open, revealing a shorter blonde, cigarette dripping from his lips.

“Well, hello. What do I owe the pleasure?”

“I was um, looking to see if the position you guys were offering was still available. The assistant one?”

“Well, I won’t speak for the band, but you could be my personal assistant—”

“Roger, let the poor girl in here!” You heard a more posh and deep voice from behind the blonde who filled the doorway. The blonde huffed out some smoke and rolled his eyes, but complied with the voice’s request.

When you could finally look into the room, you noticed a handful of women scattered around the room, a few older men, and then the three other men you needed to pay attention to. You were hoping to put the voice to a face, but someone else, clearly a different voice spoke up first. Glitzy.

“What do we owe the pleasure, darling?”

“Well, I was uh, interested in the position you have posted on that one bulletin board. But, I saw that all the little tabs are gone, so…”

“Nonsense dear! Many of those tabs were pulled by the blue-eyed floozies you see littered around this room.” You looked at him nervously, amazed at his boldness saying that with the girls within earshot. “Don’t worry about them, trust me. They’re more consumed with the other boys physically than anything we say them.”

You tried to smile at him lightly, still a little bit in shock, and looked around the room, landing on one of the tall men in the room, one with a mound of poofy, dark brown curls atop his head who happened to be staring at you with wide eyes and parted lips. As soon as you locked onto his eyes, you smiled, and he returned it, but quickly looked at his current situation and a frown replaced it. Three of those blue-eyed floozies the one man mentioned were laying around him, and he clearly did not want you to think that was the kind of guy he was, so he sat up, much to the girls’ dismay. He placed a hand into his curled and scratched lightly, and you practically could not tear your eyes away from him. It felt straight out of a meet-cute, but you were getting way ahead of yourself. The man from before tore. You from your thoughts.

“Oh, how rude of me! I’ve never introduced myself or the lads in the band. I’m Freddie, the blonde who answered the door was Roger, John is over there with his beau Veronica, and the tall man you’ve been ogling is Brian.”

You were slightly taken aback by his comment, ever forward, and Brian clearly heard him too because his face went red as well.

“What might we call you, dear?”

“Y/N.”

“Well, Y/N, the job is yours if you’d like it.”

“What? I-I didn’t even tell you about me or anything.”

“Doesn’t matter. My personal goal is to break you out of this shell you have, and giving you this job is the best way to do it.”

Freddie gave you a wide smile before returning to nursing the drink he had in his hand, and you watched each of the boys in their element – Roger with the girls, John reading a book with Veronica wrapped under his arm, and Brian pushing the girls away because there was only one he was interested in.

Freddie had told you that they were leaving in four days, so you had that long to prepare for tour life. Whatever the hell that meant. You were a shy and reserved book worm, the idea of hanging with rock stars was not something you really expected to happen in your life, but here you were. Somehow, by pure luck, even though Freddie will tell you it was your personality, you got this gig.

You had an apartment right near the campus, hence why you were at the school in the first place for an event. You were folding a load of laundry you specifically did for the tour when you heard the buzzer for your door, signaling someone wanted to see you. Not expecting anyone, you were hesitant at first to let the person know you were home. You heard the buzz again, and decided it could not hurt, since you did not have to let them in.

“Can I help you?”

“Y/N?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, whew, good, I found the right flat. Uh, it’s Brian. Could I come up?”

The voice. You finally heard it again. The one who stopped Roger from his pursuit of you. A deep voice, intelligent. You realized in that moment you had not actually spoken to John or Brian the other day when Freddie gave you the job. You walked away before ever officially meeting them.

“Y/N? You there? I still can’t open the door.”

“Oh! Yeah, yeah one second.”

You buzzed Brian through the door and unlocked your door so you could walk back into your bedroom to continue folding your clothes. You waited about 4 minutes and then you heard the knock on the door. You called out to him telling him he could just come in, and you heard the door open. If a door could sound reluctant, yours did in that moment. You called out from your bedroom, telling him where you were, and he slowly made his way through your apartment. Taking in your style as he went through. Very much similar to his, and he made it a point to commit the poster you had of the planets and their descriptions to memory. Made him happy to see that you shared an interest of his.

He made his way back to your bedroom and saw you hovered over the side of your bed, clothes all neatly stacked in piles that clearly had some type of order.

“Hi, Brian!” Your voice came out a little bit less strong than you would have liked, almost like his presence knocked the wind out of you. “What do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, I wanted to offer my assistance.”

“With what?”

“That.” He gestured to all the clothes littering your double bed.

“My laundry?”

Brian suppressed a laugh but a toothy smile escaped anyway. “No, silly, your packing. I understand you’ve never done anything like this before? It isn’t like vacation, you can’t just pack a handful of clothes.”

“I know that, but I’m honestly not sure where to draw the line.”

“Did you want the assistance I was offering, love?”

“That would… actually be marvelous.”

Brian was instantly at your side, helping you fold some of the clothes from your basket. He was careful not to select any of your undergarments, but he accidentally grabbed a pair of your underwear at one point, and not by the elastic or the bum, and he immediately went beet red and apologized profusely. You just laughed and nudged him on the shoulder. You did not mind, it was honestly sweet to see him get so worked up and not really aroused by it like most men would. You did not even want to imagine how Roger would have handled that.

“Brian?”

“Yes?”

“How exactly did you find my flat?”

Instantly the color drained from his face because he was afraid you were going to hate him for seeking it out.

“Bri, I’m not angry with you. Quite the contrary. I am not the type to ask for help, so you showing up was actually a blessing. You’re like, an angel to me.”

“Well, essentially…” Brian started talking about the process of finding your apartment, which was much more complicated than he initially planned for it to be. Hence why he did not come the day before. By the time he found out the apartment and where it was, it was late and he did not want to disturb you. He continued talking but noticed that your side of the laundry pile had not gotten smaller while he was talking.

“Y/N? You okay?”

When he looked over at you, your face was as white as a sheet and your eyes were laser focused onto something. Your body was stiffer than a piece of wood. Clearly, you were in a state of shock. Brian followed your gaze and saw what you were looking at – a moth about the size of a polaroid picture was on the wall opposite to where the two of you were standing. Brian looked back at you, calmly speaking to you.

“Want me to take it outside, love?”

All you did was nod stiffly, not moving any other muscles. Brian nodded and carefully walked over to the wall, capturing the moth in his larger hands, careful not to crush it. He walked over to the small balcony you had off of your bedroom and released it off the edge. When he walked back in, he expected you to be back to normal, but he was met with you almost having a panic attack. At first, he was not sure what to do, but he decided on pulling you into a tight embrace, rubbing circles into your back in an effort to calm your breathing.

It worked.

Nothing had ever worked before. Not a single thing. And then here you were, standing in your apartment in the arms of a man you hardly knew, and he was able to calm you down. When you felt your breath return to normal, you pulled back to look at him. And you just stared at him, wide eyed.

“Alright, love?”

“Y-yeah. I, um…”

“You don’t have to talk about it.”

“You deserve to know. After that.”

Brian helped you sit down onto your bed, one arm moving to rest on your knee, the other still rubbing your back. And you began to explain what happened just now.

[Flashback Start]

“M-m-mommy…”

It was disgusting. The sight of it all being played out in your head.

“Mommy?”

It had to be thousands of them.

“MOMMY!”

Your childhood home had a small pond and frogs liked to live in it. You always liked to watch them, and that day was no different. You went outside, small snack in hand, and watched as one of the frogs lay dead on the stones on the edge of the pool. Its corpse being devoured by thousands of different kinds of bugs. Flies, spiders, roaches, grasshoppers, moths. Crawling and buzzing. It was deafening, louder than nighttime cicadas. It made you want to vomit. The dark side of the circle of life.

Bugs used to not faze you one bit. Now, with the knowledge that they could be as vicious of predators as a lion or a tiger made you absolutely petrified of them, afraid if you stop moving in front of them, they are going to think you were dead, just like the frog. And eat you.

[Flashback End]

“So… bugs and you don’t get along, huh?”

You shook your head.

“And nothing anyone has ever done has been able to help your through the panic attacks?”

Another shake.

“Except for me.”

Now a nod.

“Well.” Brian thought carefully about his next choice of words. “Guess it’s a good thing you’ve got me on this little adventure, right?”

Finally, you looked up at him, and you smiled. He had grown fond of that smile, and never wanted to see it go away. You could say the same about his, little fangs and all. He was still rubbing circles on your back. You felt so relaxed in his presence.

With a small peck on the cheek, mean to be completely harmless, he spoke again. “Let’s continue packing, love.”

The tour went pretty smoothly. It was a relatively local tour, so the travel was not all that bad. You were on a bus separate from the boys, but Brian always made it a point to travel with you, and only leave when it was time to sleep. He only left when you were at the last rest stop before bedtime, and then he’d switch busses. He always was on watch for bugs so you did not have a panic attack in public. There were a few times a spider or something would end up on the tour bus, prompting you to enter a state of panic. But, Brian was always there to remove it. He never killed the bugs – always trapped them and let them go. He was nice to every living thing he met, no mattered the circumstances. It was enchanting. Everything about him.

One day, on tour, the boys had some time off and Freddie had suggested they walk the little hiking trail that happened to be near the venue. When Freddie was the one who suggested it, you all kind of scoffed at him, but he seemed determined. The new guy he was talking with seemed to be into it, so you blamed it on that. Before everyone had started gathering what they needed, Brian made his way onto your bus and saw that you had packed a backpack, ready to go, and he got anxious.

“You’re actually coming with us?”

“Of course! I was hoping I could walk with you. If… that’s alright, obviously.”

“I would adore spending all my free time with you,” Brian winced at himself internally at the slight confession. He was hoping to tell you how he had started feeling about you in a more intimate way, maybe under the stars, but the cat might have been out of the bag at this point. Why could this cat have not been like Delilah? That cat loved to play in plastic bags. “But, you do understand that there’s going to be a lot of bugs out here, and I can’t release them into the air if they’re already there.” “I know, and I appreciate your concern, but I think if you just let me stick by your side, I’ll be okay.”

“But I don’t want you getting embarrassed—”

“Bri.”

He sighed at your determination, another thing he had come to really like about you. “If you insist, love. Ready to go, then?” He held out his hand for you to take, a bold move considering what he was trying to keep private. Yet you took it with strength, almost as if you were egging him on to admit what he was feeling. The two of you walked from your bus hand in hand and made your way to the back of the trail. Everyone else had already started making their way.

You and Brian remained close together the whole time, hands still interlocked. Brian was glad you could not hear how hard his heart was beating from the touch, and he was also glad you could not hear the small shattering he felt when you drew your hand away. But, he noticed it was not because of him, it was because you wanted to take some pictures with the camera you packed. Yet another thing for Brian to like about you – you both liked photography. He was beginning to wonder where you had been his whole life.

Then he stopped hearing the shutter of your camera. He had walked to the other side of the relatively wide trail, opposite you, to look at a really beautiful bird. But the second he stopped hearing your camera he was turned around and walking in your direction. You had been kneeled down to take a picture of the foliage, but now the camera was dangling between your legs and you looked stiff again.

Instantly his arms were around your neck and shoulders, his head buried into your neck. He thought you saw a big bug and were starting to panic and he wanted to nip the panic attack in the bud. He squeezed tightly to make sure you knew he was there and that you were safe.

Now you could heel how hard his heart was beating.

Yours was beating the same amount, but not because of a bug.

“Bri?”

“You’re okay, it’s not going to hurt you love.”

“Bri—”

“I’ll move it far away from here, it’s not going to get you.”

“Brian! I can’t breathe.”

“I’m here, please try to breathe, love.”

“No, you’re squeezing really tight.”

Brian yanked his arms away to look at your face, which had no tears. All your color was there. You even had a smile on your face. You looked up at him, and he had a look of shock on his face. You started to laugh really hard, and he almost started laughing himself – he was just too confused to.

You pressed a kiss to his cheek to attempt to break him from his trance before you spoke again.

“There’s just a walking stick here.” You stopped speaking to gaze at the interesting bug. “For once… I’m okay. I think it’s because this little guy reminds me of you. Physically, he’s long and lanky—” “Hey!” “But moves gracefully and independently. It’s also really intelligent compared to other bugs, it seems. And he’s really friendly. I even held out my hand and his little antenna came up to inspect me. But, he reminds me of you through and through, somehow. I think that’s why he doesn’t scare me.”

You were still looking at the bug while Brian was gawking at you. In a very weird but extremely endearing way, he could feel himself falling deeper into his feelings for you after that comment. You looked so at ease, and he knew he had a chance. He reached up to lightly grab your chin so he could pull your forehead to lean against his. The two of you just stared into each other’s eyes, almost in a trance.

“Y/N… you’re such an enigma, but I’m determined to figure you out.”

“I’d be glad to let you try, Bri.”

Brian started to lean closer to you, like he was going to kiss you, when Roger’s voice ruined the moment.

“Would you two c’mon? Freddie is currently trying to climb out of a creek and it’s pretty funny.”

You and Brian just looked at him, chuckling at his excitement. Then you looked back at each other. Brian started to stand up to keep going on the trail, but you grabbed his face to keep him at your level.

“Thank you, Brian.”

Instantly he pressed his lips to yours for a quick but searing kiss. When he broke away, he saw you had the shocked look he had earlier.

“I think I just cracked the first code of the Y/N enigma, huh?”

Permanent Taglist: @bensrhapsody @chlobo6 @gardnerlangway @xtrashmammalstefx @bohemiandeakyy

Brian May Taglist: @ziggymay

// If you want to be added to either taglist mentioned above, or the one for another character I’ve written for, send me an ask here! //

#brian may x reader #brian may imagine #brian may #queen #fanfiction #fanfic #fluff #entomophobia #fear of bugs #walking stick #stick bug #roger taylor #freddie mercury #john deacon

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makeste · 5 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 219: Two Good Boys and One Unlucky Broker

Previously on BnHA: Katsuki and Shouto had their licenses for all of 30 minutes (literally) before deciding to put them to the test. But let’s backtrack a bit! It was a beautiful snowy day in December and class 1-A was chilling out and watching the news. We were introduced to a company called Detnerat, and their CEO who’s apparently a big fan of this dead terrorist guy named Destro who wrote a book about quirk supremacy and how people with superpowers need to rise up and liberate themselves and shit. It’s actually really interesting and I can see how these ideas would create a divide within hero society much like Stain’s ideology did. But anyway, so the CEO casually murdered his assistant for mocking these ideas, so that was deeply horrifying. And then he went to meet with some other villains (because yeah! he’s a villain, apparently!) who are apparently descendants of Destro (as is he, I presume), and they talked about how they’re gonna arrange a meetup with the League of Villains so that they can FUCK THEM UP. Plot twist! Anyways and then we cut to some hapless citizens who were being robbed by some banditos, and that’s when Katsuki and Shouto showed up as previously mentioned. So let’s see how this goes!

Today on BnHA: Katsuki and Shouto take on Soda Sam (who I really did think was Aizawa’s old buddy for much longer than I’m proud to admit though), who fights back with some pressurized water jets. All Might saves a stupid Instagram lady and Katsuki saves the both of them, and also recovers everyone’s stolen wallets, because he’s a fucking boy scout now that the provisional course is over. Meanwhile Shouto whips out the ol’ hot+cold power combo of sports festival fame and knocks the villain out. Afterwards the two of them are enthusiastically congratulated by a pro hero called Slidin’ Go (who’s secretly evil, as it turns out, because this is a very strange arc) and hair ruffled by All Might and it’s fucking great you guys. We then cut back to the Detnerat guys, who bring in Giran, a.k.a. the League of Villains’ black market broker who just so happens to have balls of fucking steel. Good thing too, because the DetCEO plans to use him to track down and lure out the League so he can take care of them. Lastly, we cut over to said League, whose members are currently in the process of having their asses handed to them by Gigantomachia and are really not looking too hot, oh dear.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 225 -- I haven’t read 226 yet -- so any ETAs will reflect that.)

so it’s come to this. the Symbol of Peace, reduced to directing traffic

listen kid, you’ll have time for autographs later all right? for now just DO AS THE MAN SAYS

meanwhile Shouto’s being a badass

Bakugou may be out of his element in the cold (and we’ll see if this poses a problem for him--he’s only got one gauntlet on top of that), but this lil lukewarm lad is fine and dandy

loooooll

you tell ‘em Shouto. that’s some nice property damage there son. I hope Katsuki tries to keep his own quirk contained, the last thing we need is you guys getting billed Mt. Lady style for destroying fucking main street here all of 25 minutes after getting those licenses laminated

(ETA: I guess he didn’t actually do any lasting damage though? hopefully nothing got flood damaged when he melted all of that afterwards.)

the title of the chapter is “go! sliding go!” which sounds like fun. sounds like more icy goodness

(ETA: why did they name this chapter after the weirdly unsettling and secretly evil THE FULLLLLL BULLPENNN hero, though?? my working theory is that it was Horikoshi’s way of ensuring we wouldn’t just immediately forget he existed so that we could be properly surprised when he returned a few chapters later.)

anyway so Aizawa’s cloudy friend is shaking off the ice, and now he’s chewing the boys out for fucking up his big purse-snatching operation

all that for a handful of wallets?? seriously??

LMAO

I don’t know if it’s that I’m becoming more like him, or if he’s just becoming more like me. but either way Katsuki you gotta get out of my head there kiddo, I’m starting to worry here

by the way is it just me or is he actually higher up than he was just a few seconds ago. are you actually climbing this thing. drunk on adrenaline or what

anyway so Kumo, who may or may not actually be him but we’re just assuming for now, is explaining that he controls carbonated water and he lives for thrills. his words. not mine

okay first of all, no you don’t. fucking no one in this series has more resolve than that lil monkey slowly inching his way up towards that traffic light there

and second, you spent a whole goddamn month planning a purse heist. where the fuck did you get these airs you’re putting on dude

wow you guys

I feel like we should be placing bets not on whether Baku and Todo will win, but on how long it’ll actually take them. I’m thinking not very fucking long

(ETA: this whole thing is wrapped up within ten pages. I could have literally have been present on the scene, said to myself “my what a lovely snowy day, I think I’ll go buy myself some hot chocolate,” ducked into the Starbucks on the corner, and it would have all been over by the time I stepped back out. “you missed it!!” shouts the excited ‘it’s All Might’ kid from page one. “there was ice and explosions and this stupid lady almost got All Might crushed with a pole!”)

MY DUDES WHAT IS THIS??

SIX IN ONE GO. THIS HIGH SCHOOLER IS THE FUTURE NUMBER ONE HERO I’LL HAVE YOU SUCKERS KNOW

AHHAHAHAHAHA

I’M LOVING IT. I’M LOVING THIS. FUCK ‘EM UPPPPP KATSUKI

WHERE’S THAT RESOLVE OF YOURS NOWWWWW

holy shit. it occurs to me that this is only the third time in the series we’ve actually seen him fight real villains. and the second time was at Kamino, and he was pretty much just on the defensive there and trying to keep them all at a distance, so it’s debatable whether or not that really counts. so basically this is the first time since USJ that he’s gotten to just let loose against a bunch of mooks. and I’ve only just realized how much I wanted this omg

apparently he wanted it too lol. also I’m surprised and extremely impressed that he can control his trajectory that well with only one arm. gives me hope that Shouto’ll be going airborne like his pop any day now

anyway so Kumo? is fighting back though

watch out Katsuki he’s got seltzer and he’s not afraid to use it

okay but damn though

is this fucking seltzer water slicing through this metal lamp post??

I just took a brief break from reading this chapter to go look up “water saw” videos on YouTube to try and get an idea of what exactly we may be dealing with there. and well, I found this. so uh. depends on what kind of firepower that thing on his arm is packing I guess. but he might be more trouble than I anticipated

meanwhile!

ALL MIGHT LET HER GO IT’S NATURAL SELECTION

FUCK

IF THIS STUPID LADY GETS ALL MIGHT KILLED IN FRONT OF THESE TWO BOYS WHO WERE SO GUNG-HO ABOUT FINALLY GETTING THEIR LICENSES, SHE BETTER PRAY THE GATES OF HELL CAN PROTECT HER BECAUSE I’M GONNA GET ME SOME FUCKING BOLT CUTTERS AND FOLLOW HER DOWN THERE MARK MY WORDS

OH THANK GOD

oh my goddddd

first of all, whew. and second of all I’m so glad Horikoshi let him have that moment, rather than Shouto. just in case there were any lingering haters out there thinking his heart still wasn’t in the right place and that the only reason he was all TEAM RESCUE, BITCHES in the previous arc was because he wanted to win

and I mean, he did, obviously. but IT CAN BE TWO THINGS, and now we have a nice little moment here with him rescuing his dad (whose body moved before he could think, AS USUAL) and this stupid lady who put her Instagram above her own fucking life

meanwhile

okay Shouto you have my permission to kick his ass

yeah go ahead and fuck him up

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

PETITION TO PUT SHOUTO IN “GUESS I’VE GOT NO CHOICE” SITUATIONS MORE OFTEN

wow not!Kumo, he is literally the worst possible opponent you could have had huh. sucks to be you

lol Katsuki’s mad that Shouto got to be a badass

they’re getting along so well now. Shouto completely knows how to handle him, he’s like a Kirishima 2.0. he just completely ignores the fact that Katsuki is shrieking insults, and responds as though the questions were phrased normally

and Katsuki actually answers him despite everything. I know it’s crazy, but this is seriously progress

now Dad is running over to make sure they’re okay

“oh, All Might. didn’t see you there. we were just out here being heroic heroes. [stretches casually; yawns] all in a day’s work”

at least he didn’t reference his kidnapping! Kacchan’s protesting but really that’s the best he could have hoped for

so the dude’s asking if they did all of this and uh, yeah. who do think they are, amateurs? I’ll have you know they have provisional licenses, sir

did this motherfucker just pull 13 fucking wallets out of fucking hammerspace to hand over. Link?? is that you??

holy shit. is that why your pants were always so baggy?? WERE YOU JUST BEING PREPARED THIS WHOLE TIME

so not only did Katsuki not destroy so much as an inch of public property (aside from the pole which was already destroyed), he even had the forethought to rescue everyone’s wallets and hand them over to the authorities like the good law-abiding citizen he is

where the fuck is Gang Orca, I need to send that man a fucking fruit bouquet or something

oh my

new favorite panel alert

so this guy, whose name is apparently Sliding Go, says he’ll take care of the rest. okay. thanks man

meanwhile definitely!not!Kumo!mybad!sometimesI’mwrong’s little jet nozzle gauntlets are... exploding??

Detnerat? possibly??

good eye there Sherlock

so I wonder if they got them from Detnerat or from that black market guy the League’s associated with... Giran? I think is his name??

oh shit!!!

new new favorite panel alert

love how Shouto seems shocked at the unexpected gesture of fatherly affection (which hurts my heart. hey All Might you got room for a third son there), whereas Bakugou is just accepting it and probably even knew it was coming and is just trying to keep his cool and trying to calculate how long he can stand there basking in All Might’s pride before it starts to look like he’s actually enjoying it

sdflkjasldkj

SWEETHEART USE YOUR WORDS

Shoutooooooooo. ;_; that little smile is killing me, I’m melting. once the initial surprise wore off he was so happy. look at him shyly fumbling with his tie oh my baby I love you so much

oh to be a fly on the wall of that taxi cab. watching the two of them sit in the backseat as far away from each other as possible and looking out the window and being so pleased with themselves after all their hard work finally paid off. and meanwhile All Might in the front seat next to the driver, peeking at them in the rearview mirror and smiling softly

also fly!me would definitely try to sneak a peek at Katsuki’s fucking hero license because HORIKOSHI COME THE FUCK ON ALREADY WHY IS IT ALWAYS SECRET AFTER FUCKING SECRET

and I guess that’s that! a very satisfying fight that lasted all of 10 pages but had several cool moves, an opponent with a cool quirk, and several character development moments! that’s how it’s done! god this series has been fucking killing it lately I swear. I hope I’m not jinxing it but this is some good shit. the artwork and pacing are great, I’m liking the new plot so far... just, keep it up, Horikoshi, please

(ETA: for real though he is crushing it)

so now we’re cutting back to the ol’ villain corporate office in Gotham City or wherever

ah, so it was Detnerat!

well I can’t say this is a huge surprise. I imagine the villain market was too tempting to pass up

!!!

I swear to god this had better be more entertaining than the last League of Villains team-up

so now this dude with the shiniest, most luxurious hair I’ve ever seen is explaining that he worked fast because DetCEO told him “do so at once” and his words are the words of Destro

damn so there’s a pretty clear hierarchy here huh

OH SHIT

THAT’S FUCKING GIRAN. THAT’S THE DUDE. WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO HIM?? FIRST A MURDER IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER AND NOW THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS’ FAVORITE BROKER IS GETTING FUCKING TORTURED BY CORPORATE THUGS, WHAT THE FUCK. ARE WE IN FOR ANOTHER HARDCORE ARC

(ETA: indeed we are, but this one is so much better though.)

careful, he’s sensitive and clearly not afraid to kill a bitch for less than that, Giran

“the old man”?? is he talking about DetCEO’s father? or his? surely he’s not talking about AFO?

so now President Why So Serious is asking him how much he wants

and Giran is all “I happen to be picky about who I do business with, and since you all just kidnapped and beat the shit out of me, I’m inclined to say ‘no’ here”

(ETA: Giran is a stand up guy and it cost him a fucking hand. well that’s the risk you run when you work in the criminal underworld I guess.)

holy shit Giran

RIP Giran 2015-2019

but damn though, I gotta hand it to the guy, he’s got a bigger pair than I ever expected

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

okay so I’m just gonna post the whole page and break it down

GIRAN IS FUCKED. THIS GUY IS A MANIAC AND HE’S LEGIT GONNA TORTURE THE INFO OUT OF HIM HOLY SHIT

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, AGAIN

GIGANTOMACHIA IS FUCKING INSANE

AND HOW DID HE GET SO BIG

AND IS COMPRESS FUCKING DEAD. AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEST VILLAIN GIRL TOGA OMG

SPINNER IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME TO REVEAL YOUR QUIRK AND HAVE IT TURN OUT TO BE REALLY BADASS IT’S NOW BUDDY

DABI AREN’T YOU GLAD YOU WERE OUT PLANNING NOUMU SHIT WITH HAWKS AND NOT DEALING WITH THIS UTTER SHITSHOW

IS IT JUST ME OR DOES TOMURA LOOK A LITTLE BUFFER THAN BEFORE? YOU BEEN LIFTING BRO

HOW AND WHY DID THEY GET TO THESE CLIFFS IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING NOWHERE

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, GIGANTO YOU’D BETTER WATCH IT, BECAUSE TOMURA MORE THAN LIKELY IS TRYING TO THINK OF A WAY TO BEAT YOU WITHOUT KILLING YOU, BUT IF HE DOES DECIDE HE WANTS TO KILL YOU, YOU’LL BE PRETTY HARD-PRESSED TO STOP HIM DUDE

oh my god. this is three awesome chapters in a row now. BnHA is killing it, seriously

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #all might #redestro #giran #league of villains #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #so guess who just noticed slidin' go's got a big ol' arrow plastered on his crotch #me #you guessed it #why is this man so sinister #him and his lack of friction #I can't believe he hugged my children #tomura you had better dust this cheeky mofo

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atomicwedgienerd · 6 years

Text

A Family Resemblance

CW: Scat, incest, everything else. You’ve been warned. This was a collaboration with Smelliot the Slob, who is probably as dorky and gross in real life as the victims in the story.

Elliot came downstairs into the large living room. The room was split into the lounge area and kitchen in one room. In the corner he could see his father, Dan in the corner instructing one of his private clients. Reaching into the fridge Elliot pulled out the milk and poured himself a large glass before taking a long swig of it.

Dan counted off on his hands as the patron was on the ground doing a pushup. "Come on! Keep pushing! Don't give up now man, you don't want to end up flabby do you?"

“It’s hard Dan!” The patron said as he struggled. He looked up and saw Elliot. Everyone saw the patron as just an out of shape middle aged man but none could see him for what he really was. A being of pure chaos who could shape reality just using his words. This time, his target was Dan, the hottest personal trainer in town and his equally hot son Elliot. “This must be your son! There’s definitely a family resemblance!”

Elliot smiled and gave a thumbs up "Alright dude."

Dan turned and smiled "Yes, very proud of my boy, and he and I worked hard for our bodies. You can too. It is hard, but the rewards are worth it, so keep pushing!"

“I am!” said the patron. “Maybe if you were wearing your glasses you could see how hard I was trying” A pair of thick hornrimmed glasses appears on an end table. Elliot frowned at this but Dan just reaches over to the end table to grab his glasses and slide them on his face. "Since when did you wear glasses dad?"

Dan threw a bewildered look at his son. "I've always worn glasses." This caused Elliot to mimic Dan's bewildered expression.

“Whew Dan! Could you close your mouth?” begged the patron. “Those crooked yellow teeth are so hard to look at and your breath is so foul I bet your son can smell it from across the room!”

Elliot frowned. “Watch your tone buddy!" Clearly the lad was getting upset at someone insulting his dad, although he did a double take as he saw his dad’s now yellowed teeth.

"Well I need to open it to keep you motivated. Maybe it will motivate you to work harder."

“P.U.! That’s an awfully condescending tone for someone with such a big gut too!”

Elliots eyes widened in shock as he saw his father bloat up, gaining layer upon layer of fat, thighs thickening along with his arms, a large flabby gut pushing out. "What the fuck!?" Elliot quickly started to go for the phone presumably to dial 911. Dan patted his stomach. "Mm, but I am proud of my belly, you want to get rid of yours."

“Honestly I think that’s about all I have in me for today. Didn’t you say you wanted to show me the computers you had been building in the gym you turned into a study?”

Dan nodded and started to waddle off with you following him. Elliot however had other plans. "What the hell is going on!?" He asks aloud, phone in his hand. "Someone explain or I am calling 911."

“Oh please you’re just as clumsy as your old man!” the patron laughed. Dan stumbled and tripped over his own feet and Elliot, in a moment of unusual clumsiness, dropped his phone right into the sink full of dishes. Elliot swore as he fished for the phone but it was ruined as it came out.

"What are you doing?" Elliot asked as Dan got his balance back.

“I’m just hanging out with my friend Dan, which is honestly pretty charitable on my part. After all, he may have stopped working out and put on a lot of weight, but he still has the body odor and sweatiness of an entire weightlifting team.”

Dan sniffed at his armpits, smelling his sweaty BO. "Man, I do smell bad don't I?" Elliot had to cover his nose as the room became overpowered by it.

"You're doing something to him! Fine, if I can't call the police I'll go get help." He marches towards the door with purpose.

“Aw but you’ve always liked guys who stink terribly I thought,” the patron said with a grin.

Elliot has stopped covering his nose and is clearly breathing normally. "I mean...sure it's nice but you can't be changing my dad."

“Oh don’t worry, I’m doing more than that. Say, did you happen to pick up your old man’s lice shampoo?”

"I did but...hey wait, since when does dad have lice?" He asked as he saw his dad was now scratching at his hair.

“Since forever! The shampoo doesn’t even really do anything other than leave his hair super greasy but we have to keep trying. That’s what your father told me anyways, even though it took forever with his terrible stutter!”

"I just wish it didn't make his hair greasy." Elliot commented as Dan's hair became very greasy. "and dad you really should see a speech therapist."

Dan nodded. "Y-you got t-t-t-hat right sss-ss-son."

“I don’t know why you’re so concerned. I heard you liked greasy haired fatsos with lice and stutters”

Elliot’s face flushed red and he was glad his lower body was obscured by the counter (“Whatcha hiding there Elliot? I bet it’s a big old hard on just like your dad always has. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a man cum his pants as often as your father”

The front of Dans pants grew damp as Elliot’s face flushed some more. "Its uh...I just woke up, I had an intense dream." He lied, a little ashamed that his father got him aroused.

“It’s a good thing your dad only wears these cheap thrift store khakis and white socks all the time or it would be a shame that he’s constantly wetting himself. At least they look nice with his button down and suspenders!”

Elliot’s mouth fell open at his dads new outfit. "He looks ridiculous like that!" He says as Dan plays with his suspenders and straightens his bow tie.

“Oh please,” laughed the patron. “Everyone knows this is the hottest way a man can dress. And the pants are so cheap, it doesn’t even matter if your dad is usually carrying a few turds in the back”

Elliot blinked as something came over him. "I mean, at least he's dressing in something attractive...despite the shit and piss."

“Come on, the shit and piss make him unique and kind of even hotter!”

Elliot bit his lower lip as he turned around, hoping to stop his large erection. The patron grinned and continued to weave a new reality with his words.

“But I mean you would expect someone to shit themselves every once in a while considering that Dan—errr Dilbert here never stops farting. Phew, it smells like someone threw a hundred hard boiled eggs in a dumpster on a hot summer day in here!”

Dilbert let out a loud smelly fart as a log of shit filled his underwear. Elliots nostrils flared heard the fart, but did not complain about the stench. "Yeah..." he stated nervously.

“Wow” the patron said as he finally peered insides Dilbert’s computer room. “This is the nerdiest room I’ve ever seen, well not counting the rest of the your house I mean. I’ve never seen someone with so many comic books, fantasy novels, and empty pizza boxes!”

Dilbert nodded proudly. "I l-l-love my c-c-c-c-comics! I also a-a-dore pizza. B-b-but I need to u-use my z-z-z-zit cream after eating it to a-a-a-void breakout out."

“Oh yeah it was such a mistake to shave your beard, Dilbert. Your skin broke out so bad after that. Plus look at how bad your insanely large ears and nose look without the beard to distract!”

Dan's beard quickly pulled into his now softer jaw as his skin breaks out in bad acne, white headed zits appearing over his face as his ears got larger and started to stick out. With a snort his nose inflated to a pudgy schnoz.

“And honestly Dilbert, I think you should talk to your orthodontist because considering how big and clunky your headgear is, those two giant buck teeth should be looking better by now”

Dilbert’s cheeks blushed and he adjusted a screw on his braces. "I c-c-cant help it" he whined quite pathetically before his belly rumbled, he let out a loud belch right into your face, the smelly fishy breath was heavy with the scent of pizza and fast food.

“Aw well hopefully there’s a man that appreciates all this out there somewhere. I know how desperate you are for a boyfriend!”

Dilbert looked down at the floor as the front of his pants grow wet again and the smell of urine filled the air. "But w-w-who would d-d-date a l-l-l-losher like me." He looked sad when he admitted he was a loser.

“I’m sure there’s someone out there who is into disgusting dweebs like you.” The patron looked up with a grin at Elliot. “Say don’t you think it’s time your son got his favorite meal. A hot pocket that got your cum and piss all over it?”

The patron’s words made this a reality and Elliot shrugged as if it was normal. "I am pretty hungry dad..." With that Dilbert waddled over and stuck a hot pocket into the microwave. After a few minutes he pulled out the turnover and put it down on the floor. Pulling out his smaller, but hard dick he proceeds to piss over it, a little jerking and globs of cum also cover the treat. He places it down in front of his son who just picks up a knife and fork and starts to take bites.

“Wow Elliot you sure look hungry! I bet it’s from looking at all those posters up in your room. Of those pretty ladies? No wait, that’s not right, you have posters of fat nerds, guys covered in their own pee and cum, ugly pimple faced four eyes, isn’t that right?”

Elliots cheeks burn as he takes another bite, it was true, but he didn't want to show that he was embarassed about it. So he decided to downplay it. "Yeah, I'm into fat nerds. What of it?"

“It just seems like considering your father, it must be kind of a bummer that you aren’t one too. I mean he’s so pathetic and you’re this hot perfect jock. It must just be unbearable not having inherited his extremely geeky genes. It must just drive you nuts. Plus according to your journal, it looks like no matter how hard you beat off, you can’t cum. I bet that’s because you know you need to be a total nerd first.”

Elliot took another bite, this time slower and more thoughtful. "Yeah....dad says I take after mom. I mean look at him. Look at what a loser he is. Who wouldn't want that?"

“I bet you pray every night to become a loser like him. I bet you would give up everything for a chance at that huh?”

"You bet I would! I even looked into a laser eye surgery to see if they'd ruin my vision. Sadly they weren't interested, nor was the plastic surgeon. Besides, dad is lonely now, he has no one."

“Yeah I mean compared to your dad, you’re so cool. Even with the nerdiest bedroom I’ve ever seen. And your bedroom is so so dorky. Dirty clothes everywhere. Three computers. Chess club trophies. Pokémon sheets. It’s amazing you’re as jacked as you are considering how much you love chess.”

"Well, they are online chess trophies. My room is an expression of who I wish I was. Even dad gets jealous. I tell my friends I have a cool room and I play my guitar every night. Well...its not a guitar. It's an accordion."

“Yeah your dad told me you basically never stop playing accordion. That it’s one of the only ways to drown out the noise of your incessant farts.”

A large blasting fart escaped from Elliot's rear, filling the already smelly room with his own gas. "It was no surprise, they did say the chronic flatulence was hereditary."

“The farts are one thing but hoowee the rest! Your BO and halitosis put your father’s to shame.”

"Well, I hate taking showers...and eating these special hot pockets don't help my halitosis. Not that I don't want them, they are my favourite!"

“I know and considering they’re all you eat, it’s no wonder you’ve inherited your father’s.... rather ample physique.”

As the patron’s words changed Elliot’s body, he pat his new belly as he sat there changed, a lardass like his father. “Mmm, I know! I'm a fussy eater...its embarassing you don't need to rub it in."

“Not as embarrassing as the way you rub all the piss from your pants in your hair all the time. It just makes you stink worse and, despite what you read on the web, it’s not gonna do anything to help your lice problem.”

Elliot’s belly rumbled and he lets out a loud fart as his hair grows greasy and lice infested. Reaching into his pants he cups his hand and pisses into it. "But the website said it helped with lice." With that he wet his hair with the piss he cupped.

“The only effect it seems to be having is making your skin break out worse and worse and worse. God you have bigger pimples than even your father does!”

A grin crossed Elliot’s face. "A side effect I didn't expect but I am delighted about. Even if it doesn't help my lice, if it helps keep these zits, just try and stop me."

“I don’t wanna stop you or get anywhere near those zits. I bet they’re so bad because you like squirting the zit pus into a glass and drinking it. That can’t be good for your skin.”

Elliot licked his lips as the patron’s words became law. “Mm, I am thirsty...and I've been milking these babies for months. I'm due a treat." He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a jug with a label reading 'Elliots zit pus, DO NOT TOUCH'. He lifted it to his lips and took some gulps before returning it to the fridge.

“Yeah I mean why do you think I’m wearing rubber boots? Gotta protect myself from the inches of piss, cum, shit and pus that are just sloshing around on your floor!”

Elliot blushed. ”That’s thanks to dad, and sometimes I miss the jar. It’s why I am wearing rubber boots too." A loud fart rumbled from his rear, the heavy aroma stinging the patron’s nostrils

“Wow, well you really do outpace your father in terms of fart stink. And BO. And halitosis. You really do smell terrible. It’s a bummer you can’t close your mouth with those giant yellow buck teeth with the huge gap between them.”

Elliot grinned as the patron brought up his overbite. His front teeth almost looked like fangs with the space between them. "Dad jokes you could drive a train through the gap."

“I mean combined with your giant nose and those big ears, you really look like such a geek. Not that you’d know it since you don’t even have your glasses on. Where did they go? Ah!” The patron sees them sitting in a puddle of cum and piss, the lenses several inches thick and the frames more duct tape than plastic at this point.

Elliot shivered and rubbed at his fat nose, it was even bigger than his dad’s. He absentmindedly wiggled his ears as his vision blurred. "Can you see them? Where did I put them? I'm blind as a bat without them!”

“They’re down there. By your feet. I won’t pick them up so don’t even ask. Besides your tight little nasal passages make your voice so whiny that I can barely stand to hear it. It’s amazing you can breathe at all.”

With another rumble, Elliot opened his mouth letting out a loud belch. He leaned down, his breathing heavier as he picked up the glasses, and without even wiping them putsthem on his nose. "SNORT there we go. I'm always SNORT losing my glasshes, or SNORT breaking them."

“They’re in such bad shape, i imagine they’re a pair of your dads old glasses. Makes sense since you wear all of his clothes too. I’ve heard of hand me downs but you know you’re supposed to wash them right? Instead, you just put on his soiled clothes from the day before and go about your business.”

"We don't have a washing machine..." he adjusted the suspenders, the khaki shorts he was wearing clearly had a dried cum and piss stain on the front, and the back of them looked more brown than khaki. The button up shirt had food and piss stains on it as well as a collection of dried boogers here and there.

“It’s probably for the best considering you shit yourself much more frequently and with much bigger loads than your father does.”

A loud fart escaped him but Elliot seemed to follow through on this one as the back of his pants expanded a little and turned a deeper brown, the rear starting to steam a little from the shit. SPLOOSH...SPLASH, some remnants fell out of the the short legs and splashed in the room size puddle.

“God that smells so bad. Good thing your father had the foresight to name you Smelliot! He must have known you’d be like this.”

He chuckled but it turned more into a series of snorts. "Daddy likes to say I came out shitting so thus the name."

“And you’re so proud of it too. Is that why you’re always pulling your slimy shit stained underpants up into an atomic wedgie?”

"Oh SNORT yesh!" another fart escaped him, the splashing of shit hitting the liquid echoing around the room. "Although it's SNORT much more fun if SNORT it is someone else giving me a SNORT wedgie."

“Well gosh, that sounds like something that’s a perfect bonding activity for father and son.”

The patron turns to Dilbert, seeing he's been busy reading a comic book on the couch in his room, his feet gently disturbing the liquid on the floor. He let out a fart as a stream of yellow piss also slid down his left leg.

“Hey Dilbert. Isn’t it time for you and your son to give each other atomic wedgies so you can see who has the most shit caked undies?”

Dilbert tossed the comic onto the couch and got up, waddling over to Smelliot. A lump formed in the front of Smelliot’s khakis. Both seem to do this like it was a routine, each of them reaching into the others pants, getting a grip on their underwear, and then with a quick count down the two pull, the messy underwear being pulled up. At one time both were probably white but were now more a yellowish with brown stains. Smelliot’s undies were worse on account of them being hand me downs.

“Wow if it weren’t for the stink, I would say someone had poured a few gallons of mud in your pants Smelliot. You’re definitely outpacing your old man.”

Dilbert pouted but then let out a crooked yellow smile

"T-t-the d-d-d..." he took a breath. "d-d-d..." a fart escapes his rear as he also fills his pants with steamy shit, "d....doctorrs! did ss-s-say that the conditions are more s-s-severe for the of-of-ofsp-ofsp...the children"

"It's so nice to see a father and a son get along so well. Is it true that for snacks, you guys pick each others ears and noses and eat each other's boogers and earwax?"

Both nodded as Smelliot digs a fat finger into his fathers nose, a slimey snotty booger pops out and he licked it off, a grin crossing his face. "Y-you bet. B-besides the h-h-hot pockets, i-its all he'll eat."

"You're looking pretty hungry yourself, Dilbert. Didn't you say your son makes you a special pizza that you just can't resist?"

Dilbert rubbed his rumbly tummy and nodded. "Y-yes. I s-s-should c-call the pizza place."

Dilbert waddled over to the computer and booted up the EatingOut app, pulling up his previous order of two cheese pizzas. His history seemed to indicate he ordered this every day...

"Well you certainly have the body and cleanliness of a man who eats pizza every day! I'm excited to see what makes it so special!"

"T-they say it w-w-will be here in an h-h-hour." He stuttered as he pissed the front of his pants again.

An hour passed with the father and son feeding each other their boogers before the doorbell rang. Dilbert waddled, the last few steps cause him to blast a fart out into the room. Grabbing the doorknob he twisted it, the door swinging open. "H-h-h-h..salutations!"

The pizza delivery guy recoiled from the stench, almost ready to barf and bail.

"Ah good," said the patron. "I hear the pizza guy in this town loves nerds too and really loves watching you eat pizza so much, that he gives them to you for free!"

The pizza delivery guy laughed and handed the pizzas to Dilbert. "Oh yeah if you haven't seen the way these dorks eat pizza, you are in for a real shock."

Dilbert blushed as he saw the tent the man is now sporting. Carrying the pizza boxes over to Smelliot, Dilbert asked, "S-s-s-sss-smelliot? C-can you p-p-put daddy's f-favoruite toppings on?"

Smelliot smiled and nodded. "Oh SNORT yeth Daddy! I know SNORT how much you SNORT love it!" He put the pizzas down on the coffee table and opened them, sniffing them. Unhooking his suspenders he let the khakis fall into the wet puddles on the floor, and pulled down the front of his tightly-not-so-whities. All it took was a few jerks and he exploded cum all over the pizzas like a special sauce. Then he turned around and with a fart let globs of shit fall on the pizzas.

Dilbert smiled and took a deep sniff. “Mmm, smells delicious." He took up a slice that got nice and coated with his son's cum and shit and took a bite, munching happily.

The pizza delivery guy just chuckled and laughed. "Now you see why I don't even make them pay. I love seeing that!" The pizza delivery guy rubbed the front of his pants until he came in them and then headed back to his truck.

"H-h-he's alway s-s-s-so nice." Dilbert farted while Smelliot started to play his accordion expertly.

"Wow your accordion playing sounds so good Smelliot. Is it true that your father has learned to blast his massive farts in time with the music?"

Dilbert and Smelliot nodded and exchanged a look. Smelliot changes=d the tune to something a bit more upbeat. Dilbert started to let out farts of different sizes in tune with the music, creating an almost percussive backing to the accordion. Smelliot farted and shit his pants as he played, the farts starting to make the room smell absolutely foul. With a flourish and a long fart the two finished their routine.

"Well, that was just wonderful. You too are just so in synch! It's a real shame that you're both so lonely and unlucky in love. I know that your son loves big fat farting nerds, but is it true that you like them as well Dilbert?"

Dilbert noded and licked his lips "Mm, y-y-y-y affirmative! I love big fat loser nerds!" A smile crossed his face as he came in his pants.

"That's such a shame then that Smelliot is your son! Except, well, I mean it really doesn't matter does it? Love is love and you two ARE perfect for each other. And your son is an adult, albeit a pathetically nerdy shit stained one, so shouldn't he be able to date his own father if he wants to?"

Dilbert slowly nodded as if coming to a realisation. "S-s-s-ss-sure! L-love is love."

Smelliots eyes widened. "But SNORT..." a fart escaped him. "Incest is..." he was quickly interrupted.

"Incest is perfectly fine if it's what you really want Smelliot and you do want it. You both want it!"

The body language between father and son instantly changed. Both not looking at each other, exchanging side glances, but turning away whenever they met each others eyes. Gently Dilbert reached down and squeezed his son's hand. Smelliot farted and shit his pants. "D-daddy.."

“Y-y-you are such a p-p-p-pathetic dweeb." Dilbert said before pressing his puffy lips against his son's, their pudgy noses pushing together, orthodontic headgear clacking together.

Smelliot belched into the kiss, but broke away. "Mmm SNORT...Pokémon bed?" Dilbert nodded and chuckled "You're such a dork!" The father and son held hands as they waddled towards Smelliots bedroom. The patron followed father and son up to Smelliot's bedroom and watched the two get into it.

The nerds peeled off their clothes, exposing their naked, unwashed, flabby bodies to each other, both of them cumming right there and then. Smelliot rolled onto his bed, the frame sagging from his weight. His dorky daddy climbing onto the bed, grinning as his pathetic member was so close to his son's messy, dirty shit chute.

The Patron smiled and with a click pictures of the slobby nerds appeared around the house, one of them a particular picture of them kissing, in dirty suits...in a chapel.

"I love you my stinky son hubby." and with that he rammed his hard member into his son's rear, blasting the shitty hole with gallons of nerdy cum before pulling out, inserting his giant pimpled nose, and blowing thick jets of snot into his son’s asshole. The patron grinned and disappeared, his work here done. He checked the list of other personal trainers with sons in the city and figured out his next target.

#nerdification #slobification #nerdtf #gaytf

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